Brother of The Bride
by Cakedecorator
Summary: 25-year-old Marinette Dupain-Cheng is afraid to fall in love again after her romance with Adrien Agreste was forced to end. With a successful foot in the fashion industry, she's stubborn in focusing on her career to mend her heart. When Juleka wants Marinette to make her wedding dress, she's happy to help. Problem is, her handsome brother Luka seems to be interested in her. Rated T
1. Meeting the Brother

**Here's another Lukanette story that has a bit of a sad start. Marinette is an adult fashion designer who makes custom clothes for her clients. Sadly, she is jaded when it comes to romance because she and her boyfriend Adrien were forced apart due to the latter being forced into an arranged marriage. But when her old friend Juleka comes to her with a request for a wedding dress, Marinette is taken by her big brother.**

 **Though steadfast to not fall in love again due to her broken heart, Luka doesn't seem to know the meaning of "no," especially when he can tell she's hurting. So, will Marinette fall for the brother of the bride?**

 **On with the show!**

* * *

Wedding dresses. Pure white, unspoiled by dirt or grime, pain or heartache, or any other negative crap. Freshly made for a woman about to solidify her marriage vows with the person they love.

But for twenty-five-year-old Marinette Dupain-Cheng, it was just a sad reminder of what would never come to pass between her and her lost love.

With her hair of night, skin of cream, lips of rose-petal pink and eyes of bluebell, and talent for fashion design, quick thinking, and creativity, one would think she was quite the catch. Several men seemed to think so, since she had no shortage of admirers.

So why would her loving and devoted boyfriend Adrien Agreste, son of fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste, heir to the Gabriel brand, and overall sunshine child of Paris end his romance with her?

Simple: it was not his choice to do so. Hell, he would have popped the question if his father did not have other plans for his life as always. It seemed Adrien's luck was that of a black cat. There was always _something_ going on in the background that made his life harder and more miserable.

 _~Flashback~_

 _Marinette was walking with Adrien in the park, but no words were spoken between them. Adrien did not seem to be in a good mood. Rather than let the silence persist, he decided to break the ice and come out with the bad news he had received that morning._

 _"Marinette… We need to talk." Adrien said, looking at his girlfriend with sad eyes._

 _A man of twenty-five, older than Marinette by a few months, with hair like the sun, eyes like the forest, and skin of slight caramel, Adrien. He was known for good looks, wealth, being a model for his father, and overall sweetness… And his penchant for puns, which was apparently a case of "Like father, like son."_

 _"What's going on, Adrien?" Marinette asked, detecting the sadness in her boyfriend's tone and eyes._

 _"My father's gone and done it again." Adrien said._

 _"What did he do_ this time? _" Marinette asked, rolling her eyes. Why did Gabriel always have to make things difficult for them?_

 _Gabriel had nothing against Marinette personally. In fact, she was one of his top interns at one point and he recognized her talent._

 _"About the worst thing he_ could _do," Adrien spat. "No thanks to him, I… Can't even make my own choices about who I want to spend the rest of my life with."_

 _Marinette realized where this was going. They were breaking up because of something Gabriel did? That could only mean one thing…_

 _"He didn't…" Marinette said, her eyes about to well up with tears._

 _"He did," Adrien said. "He's arranged for me to marry Kagami."_

 _"Kagami?!" Marinette squeaked, shocked._

 _She had nothing against the Japanese fencer girl. In fact, the two of them got along pretty well. Not only was she intrigued by Marinette's fashion abilities, but she was respectful of her romance with Adrien. Not only that, Kagami and Adrien were cordial enough during fencing matches that they were able to go toe-to-toe without being sore losers to one another. Sure, Marinette had her jealous moments when Kagami was around, but she knew to keep it under control._

 _"Yes," Adrien sighed. "Something about financial connections and social prestige for future generations. He_ knows _you and I are in love, but as always, my feelings are inconsequential to him."_

 _"Is he doing this to spite me?!" Marinette cried, on the verge of tears._

 _"That's what_ I _asked him. He said it was nothing against you at all, but I'm calling crap on it," Adrien scoffed scornfully. "He always interferes with my life, even after eighteen. Can't he realize that I want to make my own life decisions?! It isn't rocket science."_

 _Marinette could tell he was frustrated. Gabriel had always been a micromanager, but it got worse when Emilie, Adrien's mother, vanished._

 _And now no thanks to him, Marinette's dreams of a future with Adrien were shattered like a stone thrown at a stained-glass window. It was NOT fair!_

 _"You couldn't turn it down?" Marinette asked._

 _"I tried to tell him "no," but you know how my father operates, Marinette," Adrien said, resigned. "His word is law as far as my life is concerned."_

" _How could he do this to you?! To US?! Why can't he…" Marinette began, as she started crying._

 _Adrien hugged Marinette close, and let her cry into his chest._

" _I'm sorry…" Adrien mumbled. "If my father didn't go and mess around like this, then I would've proposed to you tonight."_

" _And I would've said yes! I already had my wedding dress sketched out!" Marinette sobbed into her hands._

" _And it would've been great, bugaboo." Adrien said solemnly._

 _"Bugaboo" was one of his many terms of endearment for her. Ladybugs were a common theme in Marinette's fashion choices, and since he considered himself to be bad luck, he felt that her good luck was the perfect balance for him._

 _Adrien cupped her face into his hands, and quietly requested, "Before we part ways… Just promise me one thing?"_

" _Yes…?" Marinette asked, looking up at Adrien with teary eyes._

" _Don't ever forget that I love you, and I always will, Princess. Even after Kagami and I are wed, I will always think of you," Adrien said, still trying his best to save face around his love. "But don't let this be the end of your happiness."_

" _What do you mean?" Marinette cried. How could she be happy in the future now that the man of her dreams was being forced out of her life?!_

" _Don't be afraid to love again. And don't be afraid to talk to me like normal in the future." Adrien said... Albeit he knew that it was cold comfort._

 _Marinette kept crying, and Adrien stroked her head. Knowing it would most likely be his last chance before his unwilling marriage to Kagami, Adrien kissed Marinette on her sweet, pink lips. Using his tongue to poke her bottom lip, she opened her mouth to grant his tongue access. Not wanting any barriers between them, Adrien took out her hairbands and let her pigtails fall to her shoulders, so he could thread his fingers through Marinette's silky hair for the last time._

 _They kept going, deciding to take advantage of their remaining time together. After what seemed like hours, Adrien merely kissed Marinette's tears away before gently making his lips leave her sweet face._

" _Goodbye, my lady…" Adrien sadly said, as he let go of Marinette._

 _His head down and shedding tears, Adrien stuffed his hands into his pockets and slowly walked away. It was_ **killing him** _inside to do this, but he had no choice._

 _Now completely alone, Marinette fell to her knees, sobbing heavily. The full moon's light shone down on her, acting like a spotlight._

 _~End of Flashback~_

That was the last time she had seen or heard from Adrien, and that was about three months ago. It did not take an expert to see that she was still hurting from the breakup.

So, she did the only thing she could: focus on her job and try to force the negative emotions out of her heart.

Looking at the wedding dress she had just finished designing for her former bully Chloé – who had shaped up and matured quite a bit since their junior high days – only represented her broken dreams of love.

Yes, she was now a rising star in the fashion industry that had been backed by Gabriel Agreste. Yes, she had designed many a dress, shirt, jewelry piece, or pair of pants for many kinds of people in her career: brides, grooms, normal customers, drag queens, you name it. Yes, she had a great team in her business. And yes, she had a steady financial plan, so she was able to live within her means. But at the end of the day, she could only think to herself...

 _'Always a designer, never a bride.'_ Marinette mulled in her mind.

Just then, there as a beep coming from her intercom on her desk. She pressed the button that allowed two-way communication, and asked, "Hello?"

"Marinette? Your next bride, our old friend Juleka Couffaine, is ready for you." Her secretary, Sabrina Raincomprix stated through the phone.

Sabrina was another one of Marinette's bullies in junior high, but that was only when she was working in conjunction with Chloé. When Sabrina was all alone, she was actually a pretty sweet person and was nice enough to Marinette. Chloé was just a bad influence on her in the past.

Once she and Chloé stopped hanging out after high school, Sabrina struck out on her own and made it through college without any problems. When looking for a job, Marinette did not hesitate to give the redhead the benefit of the doubt or the position.

Sabrina proved to be a very good secretary and was a friend and confidant to Marinette whenever her best friend, journalist Alya Césaire, was unavailable.

"Send her in, Sabrina," Marinette said. "Thank you."

A few minutes later, a woman with fair skin, copper eyes, wearing mostly black, and had black hair with purple tips walked in.

"It's been a while, Juleka," Marinette said, smiling at her former classmate. "How have you been?"

"It's been too long," Juleka quietly said. "I've been doing well enough."

"So, you're finally tying the knot with Rose? Congratulations." Marinette said, tryng to hide her own heartache.

"Thanks," Juleka said. "I... I heard about what happened with Adrien… I'm sorry."

Marinette merely gave a nod, trying to make sure not to cry during a consult, even if it was with one of her friends. Personal problems needed to be left at the door when you are at work. Just a fact of professional life.

"Thanks… Now let's get down to business," Marinette said, as she and Juleka sat down. "I assume you want your dress to be black?"

Juleka giggled and said, "How'd you guess?"

Marinette laughed back and said, "We've been friends for years, Juleka. I think I know you very well. So, other than the color, what else do you want for your dress?"

"Well…" Juleka began, but her watch began beeping. She looked at it and then back at Marinette.

"What's wrong?" Marinette asked, tilting her head.

"I forgot to mention that my older brother is coming to this consultation, and he just texted me that he's going to be here in a few minutes." Juleka said.

"Hold on, you have a brother?" Marinette asked. "I had no idea. Why didn't you...?"

"There was never a situation that called for it," Juleka said with a shrug. "Anyway, since I'm asking him and his friends to be the music at the wedding, he at least wants to give his input about the dress."

Marinette face-palmed. It was sort of an unspoken rule that if there were going to be other people involved in the consult, the least the client could do was inform her in advance. On the other hand, she was unaware that Juleka even _had_ a brother until that moment. She was a little subdued in manner compared to her best friend Rose Lavillant, so she did not talk very much. Thus, in hindsight, Marinette being unaware of this mystery brother of Juleka's was really unsurprising.

As the two women spoke about the dress, there was a knock at the door.

"Probably Sabrina... Come in," Marinette said, before turning back to Juleka. "Now, where were we...?"

When the door opened, in walked a young man, about two years older than Marinette and Juleka.

Marinette's eyes widened. He had slightly tanned skin, not unlike that of Adrien. However, he had short black hair with blue tips dyed at the ends, similar to Juleka's purple-tipped hair. He had matching teal eyes, was wearing a white shirt underneath a black double-rider jacket that had blue trim that matched his eyes and hair. He was wearing black stud earrings, his fingertips were painted black, and he had a black guitar case on his back.

Marinette could tell Luka was looking at her more intensely than she would like. Their eyes met, he blinked a bit, and then he gave the designer a smile. Marinette blushed a bit, taking in the newcomer's eyes and the way they were examining her, like she were a fine piece of jewelry or a rare gemstone that he had just found.

She had to admit that he was definitely good to look at, too.

' _He's kind of handsome… Wait, what am I thinking?!'_ Marinette thought, but immediately shook those thoughts out of her mind. _'You're in the middle of a consultation, Marinette! There's a time and a place for_ everything _, so remain focused on the task at hand!'_

"Luka, there are you, bro," Juleka said, as her brother walked towards one of the chairs. "This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, one of my old friends from school."

Marinette stood from her desk to approach Luka. She noticed he was giving her a certain look she could not describe, and he was giving her a smile, keeping his eyes on her.

"Cu – erm, eh…" Marinette began, before clearing her throat and regaining control of herself. She held her hand out.

"Marinette... _Enchanté_." Luka said, as he took Marinette's hand and shook it… But not without turning her hand over and kissing it.

Marinette's heart skipped a beat in pain. She had a flashback... Adrien used to kiss her hand the exact same way when they were on dates in the past. Just being reminded of her failed love with the blonde made her emotional wounds - which were _just_ starting to heal - open up for the briefest of moments.

Realizing this, she quickly took her hand away. Marinette's eyes fell in hurt for a few seconds. She looked back up at Luka, and with an even tone, she said, "Mr. Couffaine…"

"Please, call me Luka," He chuckled back. "Besides, I can't be so formal with one of my sister's friends. Especially one who's as cute as you."

Marinette went red in the face before taking a deep breath to calm down.

"Luka, no flirting," Juleka said, giggling deeply. "Can we get back to the dress?"

"Yes, we should," Marinette said, as she returned to her desk, subtly fanning herself to regain her composure. "Please, sit down, Luka."

Luka put his guitar down and sat in the chair next to Juleka.

"I hear you have some input about the dress you wanted to discuss?" Marinette asked, maintaining a professional tone.

"Yeah, I know Juleka wants the dress to be black, with a bit of purple mixed in. In all honesty, I can't imagine her wearing any other color combination for her wedding," Luka said, chuckling. "But black isn't a traditional wedding color."

"Plenty of modern brides go for all kinds of colors and patterns on the spectrum, Luka," Marinette said, as she looked through her portfolio of past dresses. She was not only trying to find something Juleka liked, but to also keep herself from looking her brother in the eye. "It's not unheard of to see a bride in a black wedding dress. I've seen it happen plenty of times, for Halloween or goth-themed weddings."

Luka smiled at Marinette's reasonable outlook on the idea of a black wedding dress, and gave her a smile. This seemed to go unnoticed.

"So what do you recommend?" Juleka asked.

"Let me show you my little treasure trove in the back." Marinette said, standing up and leading the twosome into another hallway.

As they walked down the hall, Juleka looked up at her brother and saw the look he had in his eyes when staring at the back of Marinette's head.

"Here's my reserve of wedding dresses," Marinette declared, as she led the siblings to a pair of double doors. "Take a look."

Marinette's collection of dresses had a wide range of variety, from colors, to styles, to accessories, and everything in between. Having such a huge selection was a bit of a hassle in terms of keeping and financing the inventory, but it was also an asset for multiple scenarios. Marinette had to work with brides who were either confused about what they wanted or who knew what they were after. Every time, she was able to deliver, and the client was satisfied and then some.

Luka was in awe of all the skirts, sleeves, and veils. Marinette _made_ all of these? Talk about high-end style. Marinette was definitely a talented designer. Luka would have loved to watch Juleka modeling _all_ of the dresses, but seeing her wearing black and purple just felt normal to him.

"Wow... All of these designs are _yours_ , Marinette? This is incredible." Luka asked, as he looked at one of the white wedding dresses. It was a floor-length, tiered halter dress with sheer fabric ruffles on the skirt. The waistline had a few white silk roses, and a small white rose spray was on the right lapel of the dress.

"Well, the designs are mine, but with input from my team, they've changed and evolved over time, so I have to give them credit, too." Marinette said, as she looked over at another section of her work.

"You're amazing, Marinette," Luka said, as he fingered the fabric. "A true artist."

"Oh, why... Spank you - no, I mean thank you, Lo-La-Le... Thank you, Luka." Marinette said, fumbling over her words before reigning them in. She swore she heard Juleka laughing.

Just then, she noticed that Luka was staring at her. His teal eyes held mirth in them, as well as what could only be described as admiration.

In response, she blushed and turned back to Juleka.

"H-Here's my selection of black dresses, Juleka," Marinette said, as she began showing Juleka the black dresses. "Take a look around and see what you like."

The two women started to push around and sift through all the dresses. Luka helped out by picking out the pieces that he thought would suit his sister, too. But he knew that it was Juleka who had the final say.

"I think this one with the wrist-length black petal sleeves looks like a prospect," Marinette said, as she showed Juleka a dress that was in a clothes bag. "I can modify it to add any other features you might want or remove ones you don't like."

"It looks promising." Juleka agreed, a small smile gracing her lips.

"I can see her wearing that." Luka approved offhandedly... but it was easy to notice that he was looking at the designer rather than the dress.

Marinette's eyes briefly met Luka's before turning her attention back to the matter at hand. She could tell that Luka was looking at her in a way she could clearly identify.

She recognized the emotions in his eyes. Before they started going out, she remembered that Adrien would give her heated looks from a distance. The feelings of raw desire and a hope to learn more about her were obvious in his peridot orbs. Those gazes were identical to the ones Luka was giving her at that moment. But Marinette was on the job, all the more reason that she did _not_ want to think about it, especially not now. Bad enough she had her heart shattered to pieces not even a quarter of a year ago, but to experience someone else act in a similar manner around her was getting on her nerves.

' _Keep it together, Marinette. You're working right now.'_ Marinette thought to herself, as she kept subtly stealing glances at Luka.

Luka himself was entranced by Marinette. There was just something about her that pulled him in. Yes, she was adorable, but there was more to it. He was able to read emotions pretty well, and he could tell talking to him made her heart flutter a bit, and she was making any an all reasonable efforts to squash it down. In all transparency, he found her very endearing.

Juleka noticed the looks her brother and Marinette were giving each other. She smiled, thinking that maybe Luka had developed a little bit of a crush on Marinette. However, her face fell when she remembered that her blue-eyed friend was in no hurry to find a boyfriend.

"Let's see what other options there are... What about this black keyhole evening gown? I can add some lace accents to it or we could include a black lace veil to the overall outfit. Maybe a few purple flowers here and there?" Marinette suggested.

"That sounds great." Luka said.

The trio kept sifting around the dresses until they narrowed it down to three. It was very hard for Juleka to choose, and even Luka had to admit his opinions were split amongst the designs... Marinette's work was so impeccable that he could not just pin it down to _one_.

Half an hour later, the consult was over, and they scheduled another meeting for a later date. For Marinette, it could not have been over fast enough. She wanted to make sure Luka was gone so she could continue her work. For some odd reason, knowing he was there gave her chills down her spine, but not in a negative way

As Juleka made her way to the door, she said, "See you later, Marinette. We need to get together some time."

"We sure do," Marinette said. "I'll tell the others you said "Hello," when I see them again."

"That would be great." Juleka said with a friendly nod.

Once she left, Luka stayed behind. He leaned against the wall with his guitar case on his back, with a level gaze on Marinette. There was _clear_ interest in his body language, and he was trying to find the right timing to say something. Marinette had her back to him and was working on organizing some of the papers on her desk.

 _'He's still here... Why?'_ Marinette thought, trying to focus, but knowing that Luka was looking at her was making her nervous.

Deciding to take a chance and ask, Luka walked over to her desk, placed a hand on it and propped himself up, and then he smoothly said, "Hey, Marinette..."

"H-Hey, I, bri-" Marinette began, once again trying not to stutter. "Er, what cap I - er, what can I do for you?"

Luka started to chuckle at her stammering. Marinette, embarrassed, face-palmed. She just wanted to hide under her desk after that.

"You're pretty funny, Marinette. Your stuttering is cute." Luka said, giving Marinette a smile.

 _'He seriously thought my word vomit just now was_ funny _?'_ Marinette thought, a bit surprised.

No one really called her stammering funny before, let alone cute... Minus Adrien. At that thought, her face contorted a bit, a little uncomfortable.

"Anyway, what you "cap" do for me, is maybe get coffee with me some time?" Luka chuckled.

Did he just...? He _did_. He asked her out on a date. Marinette's mind went blank for a second. After all this heartache and sorrow she had been through, someone asks her out?! And of all people, the older brother of one of her brides? Looks likes even though he was unwillingly out of her life, Adrien's black-cat luck seemed to rub off on her. The timing of getting asked out on a date by someone could not have been any _worse_.

Seeing that she was silent from the question, Luka got confused. Was it _that_ out of the blue? Or had she never been asked out on a date before?

"So...?" Luka prodded, hoping for an answer.

"Oh, um..." Marinette began, her eyes darting around to look for an escape.

 _'Come on, say something!'_ Marinette thought, and she soon saw her calendar. Finding an opening, she opened her mouth up.

"I, er... I can't... I'm a pretty busy woman," Marinette said, trying to stay calm. She turned her face away to hide the redness in her cheeks. The last thing she needed was Luka getting any ideas. "I have another client coming in fifteen minutes."

"I didn't say _now_ , Marinette," Luka smugly said, smothering a laugh. "I said _some time_ , meaning whenever you're available."

Marinette had to admit that Luka had a point. He was careful about his word choice. She could _not_ believe she fell for that.

His own watch beeped and he read a text from Juleka, asking where he was.

"Oh, Juleka's looking for me," Luka said. "I hope to see you again soon, Marinette."

As Luka was about to leave, he turned back, winked and blew a kiss in Marinette's direction. Marinette's eyes went wide before turning her face away.

Luka then waltzed out the door. Once she was sure he had left and was not about to come back in, Marinette sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness... He's gone," Marinette quietly said, relieved that Luka had left. She pressed the intercom button. "Sabrina, let me know when my next customer is here."

"Understood, Marinette." Sabrina replied.

Marinette sighed once she cut the connection off. She sat at her desk, trying to compose herself.

"I hope Alya's available..." Marinette murmured, as she rubbed her hands against her face. The bespectacled writer was _just_ the person she needed to talk to over a glass of wine at the moment.

* * *

Back with the guitarist, Luka could not push Marinette out of his thoughts... Nor did he _want_ to. She was cute as a button, funny, beautiful, every single compliment he could think of. His mind kept wandering to the raven-haired designer. During the consultation, he could tell that she was passionate about her work. Her eyes were on fire with inspiration, and knew that she wanted to be able to make the most of her artistry within Juleka's parameters.

He was smitten, no lie. He wanted to get to know her better, but it seemed she grew shy every time they made eye contact. She tried to keep things professional in there, and he was glad for it. Marinette may have been Juleka's friend, but she was not about to let that affect her work. It was admirable.

Since she seemed uncomfortable with the idea of going out to coffee with him, he had to wonder: was being able to see her outside her workplace a crime? Because he would _gladly_ get arrested and plead guilty on trial if could get a chance to talk to Marinette again.

"She's a riot, sis." Luka said, speaking up, a wistful tone to his voice.

"Marinette?" Juleka asked, looking at Luka with surprise.

"Yep," Luka said, popping the "p." "She's certainly something special."

"Mon dieu, don't tell me..." Juleka muttered, concerned about what her brother was about to say.

"Yeah, I asked her out for coffee." Luka said with a shrug.

"She said "no," didn't she?" Juleka stated.

"How did _you_ know?" Luka asked, surprised that his sister knew Marinette's answer.

"She's... Well..." Juleka began, not sure how to continue without being disrespectful to her friend. "A little... averse to romance."

"Translation?" Luka asked, quirking a brow.

"I'd rather not talk about it. It's her business." Juleka said.

It was true. Marinette's unwilling severance with her relationship with Adrien was her business, and it was not Juleka's place to say anything. If Marinette wanted to advertise, it was her choice.

Sensing that it was a sore topic, Luka just shrugged and decided to let it go instead of pushing for answers. He was going to respect his sister's choice, and try his best to romance Marinette, albeit gently and slowly. After all, she was just a shy little bud that needed nothing but bit of coaxing to bloom into the beautiful flower he knew she was inside.

Besides... he had already picked up on her heart's music's first stanza and all he could tell was that there was a sad, wounded tone to it. He was going to win her over and finish the song and making sure it ended on a sweet note, one way or another.

* * *

6:15PM that evening, and Marinette had called an "emergency venting session" with her best friend, Alya. She was her main audience for whenever Marinette had troubles to offload. Talking to her parents was one thing, but at twenty-five, she deemed that to be childish. So, Alya was the best person to rant to at times like this.

"So, how did your consult with Juleka go?" Alya asked.

The pair were at their favorite restaurant, which was reasonably priced by their standards.

"It went fine, but trying to stay focused with her brother Luka making eyes at me was hard." Marinette admitted.

"Wait, Juleka has a brother?" Alya questioned. "How come I never heard about this? I'm the journalist here, why wasn't I told?"

"I only just found out about him today, too, Alya," Marinette said, sighing. "Juleka's always been the quiet type, you know that."

"Good point." Alya said, realizing Marinette was right.

Juleka was not the most outgoing girl, so a lot of times she felt that she just blended in with the background. When the girls thought about it, it did not come as a shock that she did not mention Luka in the past.

"The only reason Luka was there was because he's the lead guitarist in his band and he was asked to be the music entertainment at the wedding, but he wanted to give his two cents about the dress, too." Marinette admitted.

"That's fair. I guess the brother of the bride _does_ have the right to voice his opinion..." Alya began, but then a mischievous grin spread on her face. "But you said you tried not to get _distracted_ by him? Deets, girl."

Marinette moaned internally. She just _HAD_ to pique the interest of the journalism mind in her best friend, didn't she? Just mentioning an implication of romance on her part was enough to trigger her Alya's passion for fact-finding.

"Like I said, he was making eyes at me, like he was sizing me up or examining me or something. There was this strange glint in his teal eyes that just made me a little uncomfortable. After the appointment was over, he asked me out for coffee." Marinette said, before sipping her rosé.

"So, what did you say?" Alya asked, eager to hear her best friend's answer.

"I turned him down, duh." Marinette said, rolling her eyes.

"Are you kidding me?" Alya asked. "A cute guy who's the brother of one of our old friends asks you out on a date, but you tell him "no?!" Marinette, you can't be serious!"

"I _am_ , Alya. But I get this feeling he won't be gone for long. He _did_ blow me a kiss before he left." Marinette said, sighing.

"OOH~! Sounds like this musician's got a love song in his heart for you." Alya said in a sing-song tone, before taking a swig of her merlot.

Marinette gave her best friend a deadpan expression before drinking her wine again. She thought, _'Luka, like_ ME _? Gimme a break... I'm DONE with love.'_

Alya saw the look on the designer's face and took the initiative to speak up.

"Come on, girl, you can't brush this guy's feelings off." Alya said, noting the gears in her best friend's head turning.

"How do I know he isn't just flirting for flirting's sake?" Marinette inquired, cocking a brow.

"Also valid, considering you two just met today," Alya said, shrugging. "But really, shouldn't you at least take a chance?"

"Alya," Marinette firmly began. "You _know_ why I won't."

"Yeah, yeah, still spurned from Gabriel getting in between you and Adrien, I get it," Alya said, rolling her eyes. She had heard the whole story from Marinette the night of the breakup, but she was not going to put the blame on Adrien or Kagami. She knew full well it was Gabriel's fault. "But that's no reason to shut any and all chances of romance out."

"I don't care," Marinette scoffed. "I'm _never_ going into a relationship again. Plain and simple."

"Marinette..." Alya sighed.

Marinette swore to herself that after her forced split with Adrien, she would never find love again. She would focus on her career and that alone, because after her heart had been shattered, her fashion design life was all she had. She had her friends and her business... that was all she needed.

"I'm satisfied, Alya," Marinette said with a pained smile. "I don't _need_ a boyfriend..."

"Keep telling yourself that," Alya murmured. "Listen, _I_ have a great job and friends, and Nino and I are going strong. If I can find happiness in all of that, then why can't you?"

The last thing Alya wanted was for Marinette to drown herself in her work or try to "tough it out" to forget about her broken heart... Although she was already doing so. One thing Marinette had been doing the past few months was forcing herself to _seem_ okay in front of her workers. Sabrina picked up on her depression, but did not say anything because she needed to be professional. Alya felt that putting on a front like this was no different than having a rebound guy. It was _not_ a healthy coping mechanism. The pressure and the stress would take its toll on Marinette sooner or later.

On the other side of that coin, the breakup was only three months ago, so it was still a bit raw. Alya could understand that Marinette probably did not want to move on right away, especially since what she and Adrien and was so precious.

Marinette merely looked down onto the surface of her beverage, and looked into her pink-colored reflection. She could tell she looked pathetic. If she jumped into anything now, it would only burn out and end even worse than last time.

"Why? Because I'll just get hurt again..." Marinette said, and their server soon came with the food.

"You don't know that." Alya said, before resigning herself to just eating and not trying to push her friend into trying something with Luka.

Marinette refused to answer as she started to eat her Coq Au Vin. Alya cut into her crepe, deciding not to stir the pot even further, lest they have a public fall-out with each other.

* * *

 **There we go. The next chapter will explore Luka's side of the story a little bit, and we'll see him make a move on Marinette in small, subtle ways.**


	2. Taking A Chance

**Time to start off the next chapter from Luka's end! His friends/bandmates start noticing that Luka's smitten, but when he starts giving some details, the group's DJ Nino tries to discourage it. Does Luka listen to him? N-O. What will this bring about?  
**

* * *

On the deck of a small boat floating on the Seine, Luka was strumming his guitar, a smile on his face. He was sitting down, one leg crossed over the other and his eyes had a bit of a faraway look.

Marinette had been on his mind ever since that consultation. It had been a few days since he met her, but he was still hoping to see her again.

"Luka, dude," Someone else spoke up. He had darker skin, hazel eyes, a red cap, glasses, was wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans, and had just put his headphones around his neck. "You've been playing that same tune in a loop for a little while. What's on your mind, man?"

Some of the others had noticed Luka's state of mind too and were curious. What had gotten into their lead guitarist?

"Well... I met a woman." Luka said, the faintest of blushes on his cheeks.

The boys' eyes widened with surprise and then they all closed in, Nino included.

"Come on, bro! Details!" The drummer said, resisting the urge to shake Luka's shoulders.

"Is she cute?" "How did you meet her?" "Does she have any sisters?"

"Okay, okay, one at a time guys," Luka said, chuckling. "Anyway, cute is an understatement. She's drop-dead _gorgeous_."

"DEETS!" The boys shouted.

"Raven hair, the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen in my life, adorable pink lips just ripe for kissing, and a stutter that's so endearing that I could record her voice and listen to it all day." Luka described, before loosing a smitten sigh out of his mouth.

That lovesick look he had only made the boys more eager to weasel some more information out of the guitar player. Nino, on the other hand, was a little suspicious. The description that Luka gave this particular woman just sounded _too_ familiar.

"Um, Luka... How did you meet her?" Nino asked, trying to get more clues out of the blue-haired man.

"She's the one who's designing my sister's wedding dress. We met during the dress consultation earlier this week. She and Juleka are old classmates, apparently." Luka said.

These details jumped out at Nino and stuck with him. The gears in his head were turning and he was thinking, _'Don't tell me...'_

"Her name wouldn't happen to be Marinette Dupain-Cheng, would it?" Nino inquired, trying to figure out if his thought process was on the mark.

"Yes, that's exactly it!" Luka stated, happy that Nino caught on.

"Oh boy..." Nino said, face-palming. He was thinking, _'I should've known... Marinette's always been popular with men. I shouldn't be surprised that she's even caught Luka's attention.'_

"What's the matter, dude?" The bassist asked Nino. "Shouldn't you be happy about this? Our guitarist is in love!"

"Under different circumstances, _yes_ , I would be, but..." Nino began, not sure what else to say.

Luka was also a bit confused. Why was Nino displeased by this information?

"What's eating you, Nino?" Luka asked. "I'd think that you'd be happy that I've met someone."

" _Yes_ , but of all women, _Marinette_? And of all times, _now_?" Nino asked, almost scolding Luka. "Bad idea. Don't go for her, dude."

"What do you mean?" Luka asked, standing up. He was a bit angry at Nino's comment. "Are you insinuating that she's a bad person?! I'm calling crap on that because I can tell that she's..."

"Luka," Nino said, putting up a hand to get Luka to stop. "Marinette's great, I'm not going to lie, but this is my girlfriend's BFF we're talking about here. It's just not a good idea to pursue her right now."

"Why not?" Luka asked, looking for answers.

"Well... You know my old bro Adrien Agreste?" Nino asked, as he sat down on a box on the deck.

"What does blondie have to do with this?" The drummer asked.

"Well, he and Marinette were dating for _years_ and they were hopelessly in love with each other," Nino began. "Hell, Adrien even told me that he was planning on proposing to her. He offloaded the entire cheese-fest to me. Rose petals, romantic music, _every_ cliché you could think of."

Luka was shocked that Marinette was taken, but then he realized that Nino was speaking in _past tense_. What was up with that?

"I'm hearing "was," Nino. That implies that their romance fell apart. So, what happened?" Luka asked.

"Adrien's father, that's what happened," Nino scoffed, rolling his eyes. "He's forced Adrien into an arranged marriage with Kagami Tsurugi. They're good friends and fencing rivals, but Adrien's heart had been lost to Marinette. Adrien protested against this marriage heavily and tried _everything_ to get out of it, but his father is more stubborn and unyielding than an entire _herd_ of mules. Adrien even threatened to leave the company, elope with Marinette, and disown his father, but Gabriel would not budge. It was devastating for him to have to break up with Marinette, but he had no choice."

"How long ago was that, Nino?" The bassist asked Nino.

"Just shy of three months ago, and Marinette's been scarred ever since. Alya's been telling me that she's _still_ hurting, and has vowed to never fall in love again. Can't say I blame her, though." Nino explained.

"I _did_ notice that her heart's tune was pretty melancholy... That explains it..." Luka said, now that he had heard this information.

Nino nodded, confirming Luka's observation. Hearing all of this made Luka understand why Juleka was adverse to talking about why Marinette turned him down, and it also gave some insight as to why she seemed so nervous around him. However, he only found it even more charming and adorable.

"I still plan on getting a date with Marinette." Luka said, a smirk growing on his face.

"Dude, didn't you hear a single thing I said?!" Nino said, frustrated. "I mean it! Don't do it!"

"And why shouldn't I try? I can make her happy." Luka asked, confident that he could be a good boyfriend for Marinette.

"I _know_ you can, Luka, but I _just_ said that she's sworn to never find romance again! That and the breakup is still fairly new, so if you make a move, it might just push her away or remind of her of what she and Adrien had." Nino warned.

"Nino's got a point," The drummer replied. "I don't think she wants a rebound guy."

"Marinette's _definitely not_ like that, but she still needs some time to heal before getting back out there." Nino stated.

Luka was not listening. He sat back down and continued to play Marinette's heart tune, while thinking of simple and meaningful ways to show her he was interested in her without scaring her off. That was the last thing he wanted.

As if the universe decided to answer him, Luka blinked and looked ahead. Across the street from the riverbanks of the Seine, he saw a small shop called _Fleurs Du Coeur_ , which was a flower and nursery store. Luka smiled, getting an idea...

* * *

A few days later...

Marinette arrived at work on time. Her punctuality had gotten a lot better as she had gotten older, and now she was more reliable with meetings.

As she opened the door to her company, "Marinette by Design," she was greeted by the usual sight of Sabrina at the desk and nice, sleek, neutral-colored walls. However, Sabrina had a smile on her face that was a little bigger than normal.

"Good morning, Sabrina." Marinette said, as she walked by the desk. She made to open the door to her office and start another day at work.

"Good morning, Marinette," Sabrina replied, a playful smile on her lips. "Something came for you today."

"Oh?" Marinette asked. Her heart skipped a beat and she tried her best not to swallow a lump in her throat.

She had a feeling something was amiss, and Marinette was wondering if a certain guitar player had anything to do with it.

Smiling, Sabrina bent down behind the desk and pulled up a tiny vase with some flowers inside. Not just any flowers, but they were lavender and peach roses, and some yellow tulips, too. There was a card attached to the stem of the flower in the center of the arrangement.

Marinette was surprised and a pang of nostalgia pulsed in her heart. Her gut was telling her that these were _not_ a "Thank You" gift from a past client.

"A delivery man from _Fleurs Du Coeur_ dropped these off for you about an hour ago." Sabrina explained.

"Uh, I-I see," Marinette said, as she took up the bouquet. Her face was growing red. "I'll bring these in my office. Thank you very much, Sabrina."

"It's no problem." Sabrina said, as she saw her boss walk into her office.

Once she felt a little safer, Marinette shut the door and locked it immediately so she could get some privacy. She placed the bouquet onto the desk and took a good look at them. Marinette had to admit that the flowers were absolutely beautiful. She took out her phone to take a few pictures, thinking that they would be a source of inspiration for a design in the future.

"These are very pretty," Marinette quietly said. "But who would have sent these to me...?"

As she took the card off the flowers, she felt something churning in her stomach. Not like she was about to throw up, but as if she could tell that there was something about these flowers that held significance.

If her instincts were correct, then she had an idea of whom this bouquet came from. Opening the card attached the flowers, she read it aloud to herself.

 _"Dear Marinette,_

 _I enjoyed talking with you about my sister's dress the other day. You're a truly amazing, talented woman._

 _I genuinely appreciate you making the wedding dress for Juleka. She was right when she said you were the one for the job._

 _You've enchanted me. Is there any chance I can see you again?_

 _Call or text me at XXX-XXX-XXXX_

 _Luka"_

Marinette noticed that some of the words were in different colored ink and the ink colors matched the flowers. For example, "genuinely appreciate" was written in peach, as were "Is there any chance I can see you again?" Marinette also saw that "enchanted" was written in lavender ink and "enjoyed" was written in yellow. The rest of the card was written in black. Marinette realized that the message in the card was basically telling her the meaning of the flowers.

Understanding what Luka was telling her through the blooms, Marinette blushed and put her palms to her reddening, warm cheeks.

This bouquet of flowers and card present was definitely a contrast to the ones Adrien would give her. The flowers would always be red roses and those alone, and the bouquets would be in large numbers, too. Not only that, but the notes that came with them were filled with nothing but cheesy poems, eloquent and long-winded words of love, and puns. _Awful cat puns._

But this one was more straightforward, modest, and meaningful. It got the point across without carrying on.

Marinette could not help but feel a little happy inside. It had been a while since she had gotten flowers from someone.

However, realizing her joy, she immediately put the flowers on the windowsill and away from her desk.

 _'What was I thinking?! Marinette Dupain-Cheng, don't you_ dare _start getting goo-goo eyes over some flowers!'_ Marinette thought, trying to maintain her sanity.

She sighed before looking through her schedule for the day. She did not have any brides luckily, but she _did_ have a consult with Jagged Stone about a new leather jacket for an upcoming tour. He always wore some type of jacket, but he told her he wanted to switch things around this time.

She had always been a fan of his music. When she was junior high, she actually designed a pair of glasses for him and even one of his past album covers. So, she had become one of his go-to designers over the years because they understood each other's passion and artwork.

It was easy for the two of them to work together. She would always make an effort to go to one of his concerts. In fact, she would often go with-

Marinette shook her head to get rid of the thoughts of the memories she shared with Adrien. She was at work, she had to focus!

 _'Stay out of those rapids, Marinette,'_ Marinette thought. She chanced a look at the flowers again before frowning a bit. Luka's face appeared in front of the bouquet for a second. _'Maybe Alya's right... Maybe I_ should _give things a try with...'_

Marinette's train of thought was cut off when her intercom beeped. Through the system, Sabrina spoke, "Marinette, Jagged Stone and Penny Rolling are here."

"Send them in, Sabrina." Marinette said, while thinking, _'Perfect timing, Jagged. I needed a distraction.'_

She was thanking whatever otherworldly force was responsible for helping her turn her thoughts away from Luka. Just then, Jagged and Penny walked into the office.

"Hey, Marinette, it's been a while, girl," Jagged said, as he and Marinette shook hands. "How've you been?"

"Well... I've been better," Marinette said, hoping that her customers did not notice the flowers. "Shall we start talking about your new jacket?"

Jagged and Penny sat down on the customers' chairs while Marinette took out her leather jacket section of her portfolio to show the two of them.

"I think a duster-style leather jacket might nice," Jagged said. "I thought I'd change it up for this tour."

"I can see that to a degree, Jagged," Marinette said, as she took out her sketchbook. "Black for your jacket, right?"

"Right, primarily," Penny said. "Jagged, what else do you want for this?"

Jagged looked like he was deep in thought, but out of his peripheral vision, he saw the flowers on the windowsill. He saw the tulips and thought that since yellow/gold was one of his main colors, that he could do something with that.

"Ya know, Marinette," Jagged said, speaking up. "I think a bit of a golden-yellow would be nice on this jacket, just like the those yellow tulips in that bouquet over there."

Marinette dropped her pen. Her eyes darted to the flowers before going back to the rockstar and she swallowed a lump in her throat. Jagged stood up and walked over to the window and then he picked the vase up to examine them.

"So, you and Agreste are still going strong, eh?" Jagged asked, thinking the flowers were from Adrien. "Looks like the kid's learned to tone down the grandeur. Last time I was here and you had a present from him, it nearly took up the whole room."

Marinette's face fell in despair, and she looked like she was about to cry. Just hearing Jagged talk about Adrien like they were still dating made her want to close up shop for the day and stay home. But she could not fault the singer for being unaware of the events that went down. He had been in New Zealand for a while beforehand.

Noticing Marinette's body language, Penny looked to Jagged and gave him the "cut it out" signal. Realizing that he had unintentionally rubbed salt into a wound, Jagged put the flowers back on the window before sitting back down.

"Sorry, girl," Jagged Stone said. "Back to the jacket, then?"

Marinette nodded, trying her best not to cry in front of a client. It would have been _very_ unprofessional, especially towards one of her biggest-name customers.

Once the awkwardness from the mention of Adrien went away, Marinette was able to sketch out a few prospective designs for Jagged's new jacket. Her thoughts kept wandering to the flowers and _why on earth_ Luka would be interested in her, but she had to remain focused on the matter at hand. If anything went wrong with this, it would mean trouble for her reputation down the line.

"How does... This look?" Marinette asked. It was a black duster that had yellow trim, thin, golden stripes and without the epaulets Jagged's costume jacket usually had.

Jagged looked it over and he gave her an approving smile after a few minutes, "Spot on as always, Marinette."

Marinette internally breathed a sigh of relief, and then she said, "Thank you. I'll get to work on it as soon as possible."

"Jagged, we have a recording session coming up," Penny said. "We'll see you next week, Marinette."

"See you, Penny, Jagged." Marinette said, as she shook hands with her clients and then the two rockers left out the door.

Once they were gone and it had been a few minutes, Marinette moaned and slumped into her chair.

 _'That was a close one,'_ Marinette thought. _'Jagged, WHY did you have to bring up the flowers?!'  
_

* * *

Later that evening, when it got dark out, Marinette and Sabrina were closing up. The pair had managed to get through the day without incident.

"So, Jagged Stone has another request for you, huh?" Sabrina asked.

"He sure does," Marinette said, as she was helping Sabrina get ready to turn in for the night. "A new jacket for a stage costume for one of his upcoming tours."

"What about those flowers? Who were they from?" Sabrina asked, acting like a more subdued version of Alya.

"Well, um... They were from..." Marinette began, pink dusting her cheeks. "Luka Couffaine, Juleka's brother."

"Oh, that young man who visited with us about Juleka's dress during her consultation?" Sabrina asked.

Marinette nodded, deciding not to beat around the bush. It was better than letting it drag on and leave her secretary hanging.

"Yes, him," Marinette said, her blush getting redder. "He definitely knows how to make a point without going overboard."

Sabrina was about to make the comparison to Adrien, but just then, there was a knock at the door.

"What the...? Why would there be anyone visiting now?" Sabrina asked. "Maybe someone left one of their items here?"

Marinette shrugged. As she approached the door and put her hand on the knob, she felt a shiver go up her spine. She took a deep breath and then she yanked it open.

There was Luka, who had his guitar case on his back and was looking at Marinette with a smile.

"L-Luka?! What are you doing here?" Marinette asked, surprised at his arrival. Her face went about as red as a ladybug.

"I'm here to see you, Marinette. I heard from Juleka that you get off work right about now. I thought that maybe you'd like me to walk you home?" Luka offered.

Sabrina had only seen Luka once before, and she had to admit he was definitely handsome. She saw this as a chance to help Marinette find happiness and love. So, the bespectacled redhead immediately dashed into Marinette's office, took the flowers off the sill, and then she brought them outside.

"Marinette would _love_ to!" Sabrina said, placing the flowers in Marinette's hands. "She needed to find a better place for this bouquet. They brighten up her office, sure, but I think her apartment would be a much nicer fit for them."

"Sabrina!" Marinette hissed through gritted teeth.

"I'm happy you liked the flowers," Luka said, chuckling. He held out his arm. "Shall we, mademoiselle?"

Marinette futilely resisted a smile before giving him a nod. She took her briefcase, the flowers, and then she walked out of the building with one arm wrapped Luka's. However, she managed to shout to Sabrina, "Don't forget to lock up before you leave!"

"Gotcha, boss!" Sabrina said, before loosing a giggle and giving Marinette a "perfect" hand signal.

Once the twosome were gone, Sabrina closed the door to the building and started wrapping it up. She was grinning, knowing she had done something to help her employer's personal life... Although one could also call it meddling, too.

* * *

Luka had a smile on his face as he was walking alongside his crush, with their arms still locked together. Sure, he was anticipating a "thank-you" phone call or text from Marinette over the course of the day, but he understood that she had a job to do, and was probably in the middle of something. At that moment, Luka was just happy to be close to Marinette without needing to have his sister around. Otherwise, he had no real reason to come by Marinette's workplace.

Now that he was with her, though, he was trying his best to break the awkward tension between them.

"So..." Luka began, trying to strike up conversation.

Marinette also found this whole situation completely bizarre. She was trying to avoid romance on the whole, but Sabrina _had_ to go and stick her nose in, didn't she? Sure, the redhead meant well, but Marinette was _not_ about to start talking to a guy who she had just met and was already expressing interest in her.

"Any interesting clients or consults today?" Luka asked, finding a good subject that did not involve Adrien. Work was usually a safe bet unless you were in a career where confidentiality was mandatory, such as medicine or law.

"Well, I _did_ have a meeting with Jagged Stone about a new jacket for a stage costume..." Marinette began.

The name "Jagged Stone" jumped out at Luka, and he stopped walking for a second.

"Hang on. Did you say _Jagged Stone_?" Luka asked, looking at Marinette in surprise. A smile started to grow on his face.

"Yes," Marinette said with a nod. "It's not the first time I've designed something for him. Why? Do you like his music?"

"Do I like his music? Marinette, if there were a contest for my favorite musician, he'd win hands-down." Luka said, chuckling with joy.

"He's my favorite singer, too." Marinette replied, a smile crossing her face.

Wow. She actually had something in common with Luka aside from a connection to Juleka. It was a pleasant surprise and Marinette could not help but grow a bit shy with the guitarist. Luka himself was happy he also found common ground with Marinette.

"Now that we're talking... Thank you so much for helping my sister out with her wedding dress." Luka said, trying to focus on a topic that would probably not hurt Marinette's feelings.

"It's no trouble at all. Matter of fact, it's the least I could do." Marinette said, getting more comfortable.

Now that she felt less on edge around Luka, she smiled and looked him in the eyes. He could read the ease that was in her blue orbs and he found her even more endearing than he did before.

His expression softened, a smile still on his lips, and he told Marinette, "Juleka was right. You're definitely a sweet woman, Marinette. Like a princess."

Hearing "princess" drop from his lips, Marinette's face fell and then she coldly stated, "Don't call me that."

She unhooked her arm from Luka's began to walk away as fast as she could. She also tried her best to hold back tears. Being called "Princess" only reminded her of Adrien. Realizing that he most likely made a mistake, Luka ran to catch up to Marinette, and then he gently grabbed her wrist.

"...I'm sorry," Luka said softly. "It was "princess," wasn't it?"

Marinette nodded, neither elaborating nor looking Luka in the eyes.

 _'Most likely something relating to Adrien...'_ Luka thought.

"Sometimes I'm not the best with words. I tend to be better at communicating with my guitar." Luka explained, as he brought the case off his back and in front of him.

"How does _that_ work?" Marinette asked, turning back to the guitarist and quirking a brow.

Luka knew better than to play his guitar standing up, especially in the middle of the side streets. He saw a bench up ahead and then he said to her, "Come sit down and I'll show you."

As he led Marinette over to the bench, he put his guitar case down and opened it. He took the instrument out, put the strap over his shoulders, and then he smiled at her. He patted the seat next to Marinette, and then she sat down while looking at him.

Luka took out a guitar pick and started to strum the strings. The music that flowed played a melody that was sweet and affectionate. Marinette was enraptured by the tune. She knew what the music was trying to say to her: the song that played was telling Marinette that Luka was fond of her and wanted to get to know her better. Marinette blushed, understanding the message.

Once he finished, Marinette started to quietly clap her hands.

"Wow... That was amazing, Luka," Marinette said. "You really know how to tell someone how you feel in unconventional ways."

"Thanks. Sometimes music gets the message across better than words," Luka said, before turning to Marinette and winking. "And sometimes flowers do the trick, too."

Marinette blushed as she looked back at the bouquet in her hands. She decided to just come out with her feelings and not lead Luka on. That was equivalent to lying and she hated lying and liars.

"Listen, Luka," Marinette said, turning her face away from him. "You're a great guy, but I can't really..."

"It's okay." Luka said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

He did not want to hear that she was not looking for love any time soon considering what she had been through with Adrien. He had already heard that same speech from Nino earlier. On the other hand, Luka had no intention of giving up on Marinette, either. He would win her over yet. He just needed to figure out how.

Marinette looked back at him, only to see that he was smiling at her. There was a yearning tone to his eyes and Marinette could not look away. Luka gently placed a hand on Marinette's and she felt her heart throb again.

Marinette was unsure of what to do next. Her cheeks went red, she hung her head, and she was hoping that Luka would not do anything rash.

"Shall we get you home?" Luka asked, noticing Marinette was a little nervous.

Marinette looked back up at Luka and then she blinked in surprise. He was smiling at her, trying to conceal the disappointment. Marinette gave a nod, and then Luka put his guitar away.

 _'Damn it, Marinette! You're getting flustered over nothing...'_ Marinette thought, trying to calm her beating heart. What was _wrong_ with her?

A few minutes of walking in silence later, and Luka had led Marinette back to her apartment.

"Well, this is my stop," Marinette said. "I... I'll see you at the next consultation with Juleka?"

"Yes," Luka said. "And hopefully more than just that."

Marinette blushed, and noticed the redness in his cheeks, too. However, he hid it well with a smile and he rubbed his arm nervously.

"I'll see you later." Luka said, as he started to walk away.

Marinette smiled a bit as she watched the guitar player leave, and then she opened the door to the apartment complex and went inside. Shutting the door, Marinette sighed before making her way to her room.

Once she opened the door to her room and walked inside, she slammed it shut and once again fixed the locks. She heard chirping and she then looked forward to see her adorable conure parakeet in its cage.

"Hi, Tikki," Marinette said, as she walked over to her bird. "Have a nice day?"

She opened the cage and the little bird stepped into her owner's open hand.

Marinette took out a few tiny apple and strawberry pieces, as well as a small amount of sunflower seeds in a few dishes and placed them inside Tikki's cage. She then gave her little friend a seed, and Tikki gently took it from Marinette's finger. She ate it and then started chirping happily again.

The conure fluttered back into the cage and started eating the apples and strawberries. Marinette gently shut the cage before going to her bed and sitting down.

"I don't know what to do, Tikki," Marinette said, sighing. "How can Luka be so... So _charming_? It isn't fair."

Tikki failed to answer, eating her fruits and seeds.

A little while later, Marinette had just gotten out of the shower and was now wearing a red bathrobe with black spots. Once she left the bathroom, she sat on her bed. Just then, a few beeps played. Realizing it was her text tone, Marinette took her phone out of its charger to see a message from an unknown number.

 _"Hey, it's Luka. I hope you're feeling better, Marinette. Can we hang out again some time?"_ The message said.

 _'Wait, how did he...?'_ Marinette thought, wondering how Luka got her number. She then realized it while smacking herself on the forehead. _'DUH! He got it from Juleka, who else?'_

Marinette thought over the offer. The flowers she got from him earlier that day, how kind he was walking her home, how he somehow understood that calling her "Princess" or comparing her to one was a sore subject, and so much more. He was just such a gentleman that it made her heart pound, as if revived.

She remembered her conversation with Alya earlier that week.

 _"Come on, girl, you can't just brush this guy's feelings off!"_

 _"But really, shouldn't you at least take a chance?"_

 _"Listen,_ I _have a great job and friends, and Nino and I are going strong. If I can find happiness in all of that, then why can't_ you? _"_

Alya had a point. Marinette had just been so hurt and devastated that she was being too stubborn to make any changes. It was like she had shut herself in and locked her heart up. No one really blamed her for being so hurt and sad, but at the same time, Alya was right: letting her devastation eat her up from the inside out was unhealthy.

Marinette took a deep breath, and thought, _'I hope I don't regret this...'_

She texted Luka back, saying, _"Thank you, I_ am _feeling a bit better. And yes, we can hang out again some time."_

Marinette got the jitters, wondering what on earth would happen. Maybe this was the start of something new...

* * *

Back on the boat that he lived on with his sister, Luka was strumming on his guitar and humming along. The music he was playing was actually what he identified as the tune of his heart. He knew it better than anyone. After all, it was _his_ heart's melody.

He kept thinking about sweet Marinette and wondered if she would ever text him back. Sure, he gave her his digits with the card, but Marinette never replied. So, he asked Juleka for Marinette's number and sent her a text asking her out.

Juleka was _very_ reluctant to give Marinette's personal contact information to her brother. But at the same time, she wanted to help Marinette recover from her broken heart. As quoted by Shakespeare, "One pain is lessened by another's anguish." In other words, Marinette's heartache could be healed if she focused on a new romance.

Juleka was also aware that since she and Marinette were friends, the designer knew she had no right to go on a date with Luka. Friends' siblings were off-limits due to Girl Code. The only time going after a friend's brother was allowed was if A: _He_ made the first move; B: She asked her friend for permission; C: The friend herself encouraged a romance. Since situation A had occurred, Luka was now fair game for Marinette... And Juleka honestly felt like her old friend was the only woman good enough for her big brother.

"Marinette's very likely to say "no," Luka," Juleka insisted, trying to be realistic. "Nino _did_ tell you the whole story, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did. The poor girl, that must have been rough on her," Luka said, before blushing and looking up to the star-spangled sky. "But I had a great time talking to her today. When I walked her home, I said she was like a princess because she was kind enough to do your wedding dress. That seemed to upset her, though."

"I'm not surprised that she got depressed at being compared to a princess. ...That was one of Adrien's affectionate nicknames for her." Juleka said.

"I _thought_ it had something to him," Luka said, a sigh escaping from his mouth. "Looks like I was right."

"You've always been good at reading the atmosphere and others' moods," Juleka said, her arms crossed. "It still wouldn't be a surprise if she turns..."

A text alert on a phone range out and Luka took it out of his pocket. Seeing the message, his mouth slowly turned into a grin and then he looked at Juleka, before asking, "You were saying?"

He turned the phone screen to his sister and then she gawked. Reading what it said, Juleka's eyes bulged and she thought, _'Wow, Marinette certainly came around quickly.'_

"Well, what do you know? She actually said "yes." That's unexpected." Juleka said, surprised.

"Looks like I've got a date," Luka said, pumping a fist in triumph. "Now I just need to make the plans."

Juleka was still surprised that Marinette actually consented to a date with her brother, and was wondering if she was that fickle. Juleka immediately purged that thought. Marinette was not one to move on easily. However, if she _did_ find a connection with Luka, Juleka was confident that Marinette would be happy.

While wondering what to do with Marinette, he thought up some places the two of them could go to and spend time together at. He had a thought pop up in his mind, though: what if he said or did something that was reminiscent of one of her past dates with Adrien? What could he do to avoid that?

As if reading his mind, Juleka stated, "No puns."

"Huh?" Luka asked, wondering why Juleka said something like that so brusquely.

"No puns," Juleka repeated, shrugging her shoulders. "Adrien would make puns like crazy. Marinette never found it amusing. Especially his cat puns."

"Okay, so punning is out of the question. Thanks for that tip, sis," Luka said. "Anything else?"

"Don't call her "Princess," "Bugaboo," "My lady," or any variation of the above. No horror movies, be honest with her, and above all else, _keep it simple_ with Marinette. She has a hard time coping with extravagance. I can't give you much other advice, aside from being true to yourself," Juleka said. "So, good luck, bro."

"Thanks, Juleka." Luka said, as he went back to strumming his guitar.

Juleka merely shook her head. She had always been supportive of her brother, but Luka in love? This was _definitely_ a first.

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Coming up, Luka and Marinette start spending more time together, and she's actually enjoying herself with him. When their first date is over, Marinette is wondering: what on _earth_ is wrong with her?**


	3. Sweet Notes

**Coming up, Luka and Marinette go out on their first date. With Marinette trying to maintain focus on her job with Luka around and Luka trying to win Marinette over, maintaining her professionalism is becoming a challenge… Not that Luka or Juleka are complaining.**

 **Now, I thought that I'd give a small list of flower color and variety and meanings from the last chapter here, just in case.**

 **Peach roses: Appreciation and let's get together  
Lavender roses: Love at first sight, enchantment  
Yellow tulips: Cheerful thoughts**

* * *

"No way! You seriously said "yes," Marinette?!" Alya said, a grin growing on her face.

She and Marinette were in the latter's apartment, eating some Chinese takeout and discussing the new turn of events in Marinette's love life.

"Yes. What was I thinking, Alya?" Marinette said, bemoaning herself for her choice. "I just suddenly accepted Luka's offer to see him again…"

"Come on, Marinette, this is progress!" Alya said, frustrated with Marinette's stubbornness. "You're beginning to move on and Luka's _definitely_ caught your attention!"

"Maybe… I admit that Luka's quite a charmer and very nice, but… I just…" Marinette began before sighing in defeat. She then took her bite of tuna maki.

Alya rolled her eyes and shook her head before slurping some shrimp lo-mein.

"Girl, you're taking a chance and that's a good thing! Don't borrow trouble." Alya said, as she swallowed the pasta and then took a drink of water.

Marinette started staring off into space. There was just something about Luka that was getting under her skin in a good way. These new feelings were pleasant, but at the same time, the memories that they carried with them made her want to shudder from distaste.

"Marinette?" Alya said, getting Marinette's attention. "You can't just space out on me like that. Come on, when is your date with Luka?!"

"It's been a few days, but he hasn't gotten back to me on the details, yet." Marinette said, blushing.

"Maybe he's trying to make special plans and wants it to be a surprise for you?" Alya asked, shrugging. "I seem to remember Adri…"

She cut herself off when she saw that Marinette had covered her ears. Alya then realized that she was about to make the comparison between Luka and Adrien. As if _that_ would be any help to the designer.

"…Sorry," Alya said, correcting herself. "I shouldn't have started with that. Anyway, maybe Luka's trying to figure out what to do with you on your date so that way it would be meaningful for both of you."

"That's probably it," Marinette said. "He's also probably busy, too."

"That's also a good reason," Alya said. "Anyway, don't overthink it. Besides, you'll see him again tomorrow."

"Right," Marinette said. "Juleka has another consultation about the wedding dress, and Luka's going to be there. We're getting the details finalized before I actually get started on making the dress."

"Just make sure to remember…" Alya began, raising a finger.

 _"What happens with Luka outside of work STAYS outside of work."_ The pair of best friends said in complete sync.

"I know. During our consultation, he's a customer," Marinette said, blushing. "Not a prospective boyfriend."

"Oh, so you _admit_ that you see something happening with Luka?" Alya slyly teased.

 _"No."_ Marinette stated coldly.

Alya backed off at hearing that tone out of her. It was probably better not to tease her anymore that evening.

"So… Want to watch something on Netflix?" Alya asked, changing the subject.

"So long as it's not romance or horror, I'm game." Marinette said with a shrug.

Alya turned on Marinette's TV and started to look at various shows and movies to watch.

Luka, meanwhile, was once again at his houseboat with Juleka. The guitarist was playing a happy, romantic tune, his mind completely consumed with thoughts of Marinette.

Juleka was sitting nearby, listening to her brother's music. Seeing Luka act like this about a woman was a sight that was unheard of, but not unpleasant.

"So, what plans did you make for this?" Juleka quietly asked, a smile on her face.

"I'm still thinking on it. Playing a song on my guitar for her is a given, though." Luka said, holding back a chuckle.

Juleka giggled a bit, before saying, "Just don't hit on her tomorrow during the consult, okay?"

"I won't, guitarist's honor." Luka replied, giving Juleka a firm nod.

He also noticed something in Juleka's front pocket, and then he asked, "What's in your pocket?"

"Oh, this?" Juleka asked, as she took it out. "Want to look at it?"

"Thanks." Luka said, as Juleka walked over and gave her brother the pamphlet.

Looking it over, Luka's smile slowly but surely grew with delight. He then said to Juleka, "Sis, I think you gave me an idea."

Juleka smiled, happy that she had given her brother some inspiration for his first date with Marinette.

* * *

The next day, Marinette walked into work, slowly and calmly trying to take deep breaths so that way she could get through her consult with the Couffaine siblings.

' _Okay, Marinette, woman up! You can do this. It's only a consultation. Just a meeting. It's nothing to get all worked up about.'_ Marinette thought.

"Morning, Marinette," Sabrina said, a little _too_ happy. "Did you see Mr. Couffaine at all?"

"Not since he walked me home the other night, Sabrina," Marinette said, as she was about to make her way to her office. "Why do you ask?"

"It just that you seem to be in _quite_ a chipper mood these past few days since then," Sabrina teased. "So, tell me, any luck with Mr. Blue-Haired Dreamboat?"

"Not now, Sabrina," Marinette said, her face as red as her ladybug-themed business-casual ensemble. "Luka and Juleka are going to be here any minute, I can't have any distractions."

"Alright, alright," Sabrina said, giggling. "I'll let you know when they're here."

"Thanks." Marinette said, as she soon retreated to her office.

Once she entered her office and shut the door, Marinette put a hand against her chest and heaved a sigh.

' _Bad enough Alya teases me about this, but now Sabrina's giving me grief, too? This isn't going to be good for my heart…'_ Marinette thought, before going to her desk to try and get some work done.

But as the incessant tick-tock of the second hand on the clock on her wall kept going, Marinette struggled to focus. Every second that passed was another second bringing her closer to seeing Luka again. Sure, it was for professional reasons, but she still felt ladybugs buzzing in her gut at the prospect.

The intercom buzzed and then Sabrina said, "Marinette, Juleka and Luka are here."

"Alright, let them know I'm ready to see them." Marinette said, before the connection cut off for a bit.

The siblings walked in.

"Good morning." Juleka said.

"Morning Juleka… Luka," Marinette said, before making eyes with Luka. She blushed before shyly looking away from him. "Shall we get to work?"

The group finalized the details for the dress. It was going to be a black evening gown with bracelet petals sleeves, tiers of black lace on the skirt, a double-swan collar, and purple rhinestones on the bodice.

"This looks like the perfect dress!" Juleka said. "I can't wait to see you bring it to life, Marinette."

"Let's go into the dress room," Luka said. "I'd like to see if we could modify one of the existing dresses instead of having Marinette make one from scratch."

Marinette was surprised at how considerate Luka was being. However, she also knew that as a customer, he probably wanted to go through as little hassle as possible for the dress.

The group went back to the dress reserve and were once again looking through the black dresses.

Marinette was browsing the black ballgowns. Luka saw one that he liked, so he came up next to Marinette. He said, "I think this one might work."

As he reached in, his shoulder bumped into Marinette's. Marinette froze, her heartbeat going up in rate, and her face turning a whole new shade of ladybug red. Luka also paused. The two adults looked at each other, blinked, and smiled a bit.

' _He's gorgeous…'_ Marinette thought, examining his teal hair and eyes, his smooth skin and his kind smile. Apparently, he was gazing at her, too.

Marinette was tempted to touch his face, or even his chest, but she remembered that she was working, so she cleared those thoughts out of her mind.

Marinette refocused her attention and said, "Um, may I see the dress?"

"Here," Luka said, as he took the dress out. "Hopefully it won't be too much of a challenge."

The one Luka picked out was a ballgown that had a jewel neckline and the sleeves were elbow-length bell rather than bracelet petal. The skirt itself was rather plan and the bodice itself had nothing on it. What Luka saw as an excessive challenge, Marinette saw as a way to put her artwork to good use. Marinette knew how to alter dresses and had done even more drastic changes to others in the past. The lace tiers were easy to sew on and she knew how to lengthen sleeves, so this was actually going to be one of her easier alterations.

"This looks like one we can work with. Let's keep looking." Marinette said, as she hung the dress on another rack behind them before going back in to find more.

Marinette kept rummaging around the dresses, and Luka did the same, but whenever they bumped into each other, they would freeze and blush. Luka was subtler with it, only giving Marinette an affectionate smile, almost no color on his face. It was like he was unaffected by this contact. But deep down, he _was_ , with his heart beating a mile a minute at being so close to Marinette.

Marinette herself was beginning to wonder: could he see her blush? Could he tell that she was getting jittery around him? Did he pick up on her anxiety? Did she look okay? Was she about as red as a tomato at that moment?

' _Why am I so self-conscious around him?'_ Marinette thought, realizing what she was thinking. She immediately turned her attention back to her work.

"What about this one?" Marinette suggested. She pulled out a black halter dress with elbow-length set-in sleeves.

"We could make changes to that one as well," Juleka said, nodding in approval of Marinette's analysis. "Good thinking."

Marinette put the dress aside and kept browsing around for other prospects. Luka kept looking at her with a smile.

Juleka was watching with a big smile and she could not help but laugh a bit. Seeing her brother acting the way he was around a woman was a sight to behold. And Juleka could not help but think that he and Marinette were a perfect match for each other.

' _Those two will be making out before long.'_ Juleka thought.

Once they decided on a dress to modify, the appointment was done for the day.

"Thanks so much, Marinette," Juleka said, making her way to the door. "We'll see you soon."

"See you later, Juleka," Marinette said. "I'll get to work on the dress immediately."

"Good. Are you coming, Luka?" Juleka asked.

"Yeah, I'm coming," Luka said, before turning to Marinette. "Well… Bye for now, Marinette."

"Wait, Luka…" Marinette began, reaching out for his arm.

"Yes?" Luka asked.

Luka was hoping that Marinette would ask him about their date. He was looking forward to it, and hoped that she was, as well.

To his minor disappointment, Marinette immediately pulled her hand away before quietly saying, "Um… I'll ask later. This isn't the time or place for it."

Luka nodded in understanding before following after his sister. Once the door shut behind him, Marinette went back to her desk to get back to work. But now that she saw Luka again, all sense of focus seemed to go out the window.

' _This isn't good… Every time I get close to him, my heart goes into overdrive!'_ Marinette thought. _'Come on, Marinette. You have another bride coming in in a few minutes, so you need to get it together!'_

Marinette fully collected herself before her next bride came in. She wanted to go the traditional white wedding dress route for her wedding. They decided on a sweetheart princess dress with red roses embroidered on the skirt, a red satin sash tied with a large double-loop flower in the back. The sleeves would be long melon sleeves.

When Marinette showed the bride a dress that matched the parameters minus the embroidery and sash, she was absolutely overjoyed.

"Thank you!" The bride said, absolutely delighted with the results Marinette gave her. "This is going to be my dream dress, I know it!"

"I'm happy that you're looking forward to it," Marinette said. "I hope that my work will be satisfactory."

"Oh, I'm _positive_ it will be! You're an artist, Marinette! I know you can do it!" The bride said, as she soon left the store in a good mood.

Marinette smiled as the young woman had left. Marinette was pleased with herself because she completely forgot about Luka. Without any thoughts or reminders of blue hair and a guitar, Marinette had a happy bride leave her store. After that, the rest of the day went by quickly, quietly and without any mistakes on Marinette's end. In all, it was just another day at work.

* * *

Several hours later, Marinette was closing up shop. All was peaceful. Just then, she got a phone call on her personal cell phone. She looked at the Caller ID, she saw that it was Luka.

Marinette, feeling giddy for some odd reason, picked up the phone and said, "Hello?"

"Hey, Marinette," Luka said. "I figured I'd call and tell you that I figured out some plans for us."

"Oh, that's great!" Marinette said, smiling and blushing happily.

"Can you meet me at the Grand Palais at 10AM next Sunday?" Luka asked.

"I can do that!" Marinette said. "I'll get Sabrina to cover for me that day. By the way, what are we going to be doing?"

"It's a surprise." Luka said, a smile in his voice.

Marinette blushed heavily, wondering what Luka had in mind. Whatever it was, Marinette was almost certain it was going to be fun, or at least music related.

If it were a Jagged Stone concert, she would _definitely_ enjoy it.

"Okay, I trust you." Marinette said, but then what she had just said immediately sunk in.

' _I trust you…'_ Marinette thought. _'I can't believe I said that! And I haven't even…'_

Hearing a long pause over the phone, Marinette chanced, "Luka, are you there?"

"Oh, I'm here. That's… That's great to know," Luka said, delighted. Clearly, being told he was trusted was something that made him happy. "I'll see you then, Marinette."

"Bye!" Marinette said, before Luka hung up the phone.

Marinette was embarrassed that she told Luka that she trusted him so willingly and so naturally like that. A smile grew on her face when she realized that she was comfortable with Luka to the point where she _could_. Alya would definitely have a field day once she heard about this.

Over on the Seine, Luka had just hung and he had a blank look on his face. He was once again rehearsing music for the wedding, but the only other people there were Juleka and Nino. The rest of the band members were running late.

"Wow…" Luka said, a smile slowly quirking up.

"Judging by the look on your face, can I assume that Marinette said something that you liked?" Nino said with a laugh.

"She said that… She said that she trusts me." Luka said, the color on his face fading away.

Juleka smiled at hearing this news. Nino was also pleasantly surprised.

"If she's saying that, then that means she's recovering," Juleka said, feeling relieved. "Looks like you've got to blow her mind next Sunday."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Luka said, a smile of determination and delight growing on his face. "Since I've earned her trust, I'm not going to break it."

"That's the spirit, dude!" Nino said, as he and Luka bumped fists.

The rest of the band soon made it onboard, all chatting with each other about random things. They gathered onto the deck of the boat and began tuning their instruments. They also kept the volume at a level that was enough so that they could hear their playing and make any necessary corrections. Luka made sure that it was not so loud that the cops would be called on them for noise disturbance.

Juleka was sitting off to the side. She was in the audience because the band was selecting the songs for the wedding reception, and Juleka had the final say on which ones that they were going to be playing.

"Everyone ready?" Luka asked, his eyes scanning the band members.

The group clamored and hummed to the affirmative. The drummer tapped his sticks together to do the countdown. Immediately after, the boys started playing a high-tempo rock song that had a very happy melody to it. Luka had a small solo in the middle with Nino still DJing in the background. The song could be accused of congratulating Juleka on her wedding.

Once the song was over, Juleka was clapping her hands, and she said, "This could go on the list."

"That's good," Nino said, with a satisfied nod of his head. "Let's keep going."

The drummer repeated the countdown and this time the music was more slow, quiet, and very peaceful. It was definitely suitable for a slow dance.

"What do you think, Juleka?" The drummer asked.

"This would arguably perfect for the first husband-wife dance." Juleka said, a smile on her face.

Everyone noticed that there was still guitar music playing.

"Um, Luka?" Juleka said, as she noticed her brother was distracted and he was playing like no one had stopped.

"Luka? Dude, you still with us?" The bassist asked. But then he saw the look on Luka's face.

There was a faint blush on his cheeks, a calm smile, and his eyes were distant.

Everyone noticed Juleka and Nino had knowing smiles and then they all realized what was going on: Luka had landed a date with the girl that he liked, and it was clear he was looking forward to it.

* * *

The following Sunday, Marinette had woken up earlier than normal, in spite of running on very little sleep. She was just so anxious about spending time with Luka that she just could not doze off.

As soon as she got up, she started to get dressed for the day. Marinette put her hair in its usual pigtails and started to change into her clothes. She decided on a red sundress with a knee-length skirt, with a black knit cardigan that had sleeves that went to her mid upper-arms and went to her mid-back. She was wearing black flats with red ribbons on the top, and had black nylon stockings on.

"Okay, now for a small amount of makeup..." Marinette said, as she took out her makeup bag.

She put on minimal foundation on her face, and a bit of eyeshadow and mascara. She finally put on a bit of red lipstick. Marinette normally did not wear makeup unless it was important or she was on a date with Adrien. But for some reason, she had this urge to look her best for Luka.

Once she was fully made up, Marinette saw that it was about 9:30AM on her phone. After feeding Tikki, she immediately rushed out the door, remembering to lock it.

In front of the Grand Palais, Luka was waiting for Marinette. He was wearing black khakis instead of his usual ripped jeans, a white dress shirt, and a blue men's blazer. He still had his guitar case on his back, and was wearing sneakers.

 _'Marinette should be here, soon. Juleka told me that she tends to be late, but hopefully not for this.'_ Luka thought, a smile on his face. He was anticipating Marinette's arrival.

"Luka!" Marinette shouted, as she started running up to find him.

"Marinette." Luka said, smiling.

"Did you wait very long?" Marinette asked, as she caught up to him.

"No, I've been here for about five minutes," Luka said, before scanning Marinette with his eyes. "You look great, by the way."

"Thank you," Marinette replied, blushing. "You look good, too. So, what are we doing?"

"Check it out." Luka said, gesturing behind him.

Marinette's eyes widened with joy when she saw that it was the Paris Newcomer Fashion Expo. It was basically a two-day version of Fashion Week in Paris that was reserved _strictly_ for up-and-coming designers. This was so they could showcase their works without bigger names overshadowing them. People from more long-lived companies were allowed to come and see what new talent they could recruit. With everything that had been happening to her, the expo had totally slipped her mind.

"The Newcomer Fashion Expo?!" Marinette squealed. "I completely forgot about this!"

"Then it's a good thing I scored tickets," Luka said, as he took out the two slips of paper. "Let's go in."

"Okay!" Marinette said.

"And to make sure we don't get separated too soon..." Luka began, a mischievous smile on his face.

He took her hand and started to lead her into the Grand Palais. Marinette blushed as she felt Luka's smooth palm against her own. Hoping he was not being too presumptuous, he made sure to lock fingers with Marinette. Marinette could not help but smile at this gesture of Luka's. It was so small, but at the same time so meaningful.

The pair entered the building and started to walk around all of the stands and booths. There were so many displays from so many small, newly-established companies that Marinette was in awe. She was also getting a sense of nostalgia since she remembered that once upon a time, she had a stand for herself and her company at a similar expo.

"Wow! Look at this skirt!" Marinette said, as she spotted a stand that had some very well-made skirts on display. They came in all lengths, colors, patterns, and styles. "What material is this?"

"It's a polyester blend of cotton and..." The girl at the stand said, as she started talking to Marinette about the skirt.

Luka watched with affection as Marinette's eyes were alight with joy and awe. He had never seen her this happy before. In the office, she was trying to be professional; outside of the office, she was nervous around him. Here, though, she was at ease and it was clear that she was enjoying herself.

 _'She's so cute.'_ Luka thought, smiling.

Though they wanted to keep themselves from losing track of each other, Marinette and Luka split up somewhere along the line. Marinette was at one vendor stand and she was looking at their faux gemstone pieces. She was asking the people at the stand where they got their materials for them. They were so beautiful that she was wondering if she could use these as part of another line at her company.

Luka himself was not really interested in fashion. As a matter of fact, he knew diddly-squat about it aside from what clothes looked good on _him_ personally and what he particularly liked. But he thought that maybe he could find something that Marinette would like as a souvenir from the expo. He soon saw a booth that had some necklace materials on it. There was a black lanyard necklace with some silver beads threaded in and the ends had magnetic clasps. Luka also noticed large spools of silk thread, all in different colors. He immediately noticed the black and the red silk, and he started to get an idea.

"See anything you like, sir?" Someone asked, and Luka looked up at the vendor and gave him a smile.

"Oh, um..." Luka began, realizing he had been caught in the act. However, he also felt that this was a good opportunity...

* * *

A little later, Marinette and Luka were still walking around the stands. Marinette was talking his ear off about all of the fashion stands she had seen, and was thoroughly engrossed in explaining certain terms. Luka was learning a lot about fashion and he was enjoying it.

Luka looked at his watch and saw that it was about 1PM. He also heard stomach growls... Coming from himself.

"Um, Marinette?" Luka asked.

"Yes, Luka?" Marinette replied, looking Luka in the eyes.

"I'm getting hungry," Luka said. "What about you?"

"I'm not that..." Marinette began, but then her stomach growled quite loudly, too.

The pair paused at hearing this noise, and they were surprised at the perfect timing it had. Immediately after, the two started to laugh.

"That was hilarious! Your stomach made sounds as soon as you were going to deny any hunger! Anyway, shall we go?" Luka said.

"Okay!" Marinette said, as she and Luka started to leave the building.

Walking down the streets of Paris to find a nice place for lunch, Marinette was very satisfied with the expo. She had so many souvenirs from the place and the designer had so much fun. There was still something poking at her brain, though.

"I'm glad that it was just the newcomers' expo. If it had been an expo featuring some more veteran companies, chances were that... That..." Marinette began, her face falling as she tried her best to force the words out.

"Chances are we'd run into something related to Gabriel or even have an encounter with Adrien?" Luka asked, completing the sentence for her.

What?! Marinette never told Luka about her and Adrien, so why would he know that?!

"How did you...?" Marinette began, getting a bit angry.

"Nino told me the whole story. He's in my band." Luka said with a shrug.

"Oh." Marinette said, calming down. That made perfect sense.

"That's why I made sure Gabriel's company wasn't there on purpose. I didn't want our day to be ruined by having any reminders of Adrien." Luka admitted.

"You did that?" Marinette asked, touched by Luka's consideration of her feelings.

"Yes." Luka said, with a somewhat sardonic smile on his face.

"That was so sweet of you." Marinette said, wrapping her arms around his. Luka grinned with joy as he and Marinette kept walking around to find and eat something.

After a little bit more walking, Luka noticed that there was a crepe cart up ahead and saw the many varieties and flavors that they were selling. He saw that Marinette had a slight drip of drool coming from her lips, and he could not help but snicker at this sight.

"Want a crepe?" Luka asked, smothering his laughter.

"Oh, um, yes, I want a crap - er, crepe!" Marinette said, wiping the saliva from her mouth and fumbling on her speech again. This only made Luka crack up a little more.

"Shall we?" Luka inquired, slowly walking to the stand. Marinette nodded like a bobblehead toy, but once she realized she was doing, she stopped.

A few minutes later, Luka and Marinette were once again walking around while holding their crepes in hand.

Luka's was steak, spinach, and mushroom that had a balsamic glaze on it. The steak was cooked to a beautiful, apple-blossom pink medium-rare, accompanied by mahogany brown sautéed mushrooms inside. The spinach inside was just tender with a small bite in the back and wilted perfectly. The crepe was nice and crisp and was strong enough to hold all of that savory food together. The acidity of the balsamic glaze was the signature of the artist on the finished painting.

Marinette's was a sweet crepe. Hers were apple-cinnamon crepes with powdered sugar. The semi-tender apples had a melodic crunch to them. The Granny Smith apples' familiar tartness combined with the warm earthiness of the cinnamon and the snowy white powdered sugar was equivalent to sitting in front of a fireplace with one's family on a winter's night.

"How's your crepe, Marinette?" Luka asked. "Mine's great!"

"I like mine, too. It tastes wonderful." Marinette replied, a smile on her face and a giggle on her lips.

"Really, now?" Luka said aloud, smiling playfully.

Just as Marinette was about to bite into her crepe again, Luka leaned his face closer to her and he chomped a big piece of hers off with his mouth.

"HEY!" Marinette shouted, surprised that Luka did that.

After chewing a bit and chuckling, Luka swallowed the food and said, "Yeah, you're right. It's delicious."

Marinette moaned, annoyed at Luka's stunt, but then he raised his crepe up to her mouth and said, "You can have a bite of mine."

Marinette looked at the crepe in front of her face. The designer's cheeks went red when she realized that Luka had indirectly kissed her when he ate part of her crepe, and now he's gone and given her the chance to do the same to him.

Rather than let the idea of that freak her out, she squeezed her eyes shut and took a bite out of his crepe. As she chewed it, the flavor of the steak, mushrooms, and spinach were doing a three-part symphony in her mouth. Marinette's saliva glands were working overtime, it was so good.

"Wow, this is great!" Marinette said.

Luka was smiling at Marinette, happy that she had enjoyed her treat and he was laughing a bit that they had shared two indirect kisses with each other. Whether or not she noticed, he was not sure.

Luka looked at his watch and saw that they still had most of the afternoon to themselves. So, he smiled and took Marinette's hand.

"Luka? What's the matter?" Marinette asked.

"I still have a lot of things planned for us today." Luka said, as he started leading Marinette by the hand.

Luka brought Marinette all over Paris, bringing her to so many places around the city.

To start with, he and Marinette had a bit of fun at an arcade. They had games like Dance Dance Revolution, racing games, foosball, and plenty more.

Luka was expecting Marinette to enjoy herself with all the games. It was another thing Juleka told him about her, that she was a gamer. He won a few rounds of foosball and he tied a few times with Marinette on DDR.

"Wow, you really have some moves, Luka!" Marinette laughed, as she had narrowly lost to Luka again at DDR.

They were both breathing heavily after the fifth round of the dance game, their hands were on their knees, bending over, and sweating a little bit.

"You do too, Marinette," Luka said, nearly wheezing. Seeing Marinette so happy really brought a smile to his face. "And you said that you're clumsy."

"Thank you," Marinette said, as she caught her breath. "So what now?"

"I'll bet you can't match me in skill at Ultimate Mecha Strike." Luka teased.

"They have UMS here?!" Marinette squealed, delighted to hear that her favorite video game was at the arcade. "That's my favorite! I played that game all the time with my dad back in the day, and I always try to stay up to date with the newest versions!"

"Then let's play." Luka challenged, a smile on his face.

The two of them got in front of the game system, and they each took a controller. Marinette used her usual LB-03 character while Luka created a mecha character that looked more like himself.

As the countdown finished, Marinette started furiously banging her fingers on the buttons, her tongue was sticking out with concentration, and she was scoring points faster than the blink of an eye.

Luka was struggling to keep up, as he kept dodging and defending himself, but his character kept getting hit. He was also struggling to land _any_ hits on Marinette's mecha, and was even wondering where on earth the combinations she was using were coming from.

"And now with a triple head combo... BANG!" Marinette declared, as she won the round without batting an eyelash.

Marinette then started to do a little victory dance while the screen was flashing "Marinette Wins" alongside the image of LB-03 standing on top of Luka's character. The guitarist was utterly shocked because he was _not_ counting on Marinette wiping the floor with him.

Rather than continue to gawk, he just started chuckling and laughing because he enjoyed himself. It had been a while since someone kicked his rear at one of his favorite games.

"Wow, Marinette! You _definitely_ have some skill in this game," Luka said. "I couldn't keep up."

After a successful round at the arcade, Luka noticed how much time had passed. It was already getting dark out and he still had one more thing he wanted to do for Marinette before they parted ways for the night.

Luka took Marinette to the Seine and there was a gondola and gondolier waiting for them. He stepped into the boat, and then turned around to Marinette. He held his hand out to her.

Marinette hesitated briefly before putting her hand into his own. He helped her into the gondola, and then they sat down. The gondolier took this as his cue to start rowing the boat.

Marinette was looking at the setting she and Luka were in. Riding in a boat on the Seine during the sunset, after eating some nice food and having a lot of fun together.

"Wow... You really went all out for this today, didn't you, Luka?" Marinette said, blushing. "The fashion expo, the arcade... I had a great time."

"I'm glad you did," Luka said, with a shrug of his shoulders. "I wanted to make sure that this day was nothing but fun for you."

"Oh, Luka..." Marinette sighed, a small smile gracing her lips.

Seeing her smile, Luka could only chuckle. He definitely liked Marinette, but he was aware that it was probably best to take things slow with her. Sure, his sister and his friends had his back, but he chose to just lay it out in the open and get it over with.

"Listen... I know you're probably still hurt over what happened with Adrien," Luka stated, deciding to get things off his chest. "I understand if this has made you a bit anxious and uncomfortable."

"Not at all. I had fun, and... Minus the brief mention of it today, I completely forgot about Adrien." Marinette said, realizing Luka did not want to be a rebound guy.

"Well, that's good," Luka said, as he gently took Marinette's hand into his own. "I wanted to be sure of that..."

Marinette and Luka were keeping their attention on each other. Marinette was grateful that Luka was being so attentive and sensitive to her feelings.

The gondolier tuned out their conversation, but he smiled that the pair was getting close to each other.

* * *

Once the ride was over, Luka led Marinette to the park. Marinette was sitting on the fountain, waiting on him. Luka had supposedly claimed that he had to use the bathroom. Marinette was just looking at the stars up in the sky.

She smiled, and let a small sigh out of her lips. Marinette could only think about Luka and how much she enjoyed herself that whole day. Luka was so chivalrous to her. Marinette was glad she did not turn down Luka's invitation.

"I'm back." Luka spoke. He sat down next to Marinette, and gave her a smile.

"That was fast," Marinette giggled before looking up at the stars again. "The stars are certainly beautiful tonight."

"Yeah, they are, but..." Luka began. His eyes were straying to Marinette's face. Nothing else was important to him.

"Luka?" Marinette asked.

Luka failed to answer. Instead, he took his guitar out of his case and started to tune the instrument. Marinette was curious about what he was doing, but refrained from commenting.

Immediately after, Luka started to play a soft, sweet melody on his guitar. The song had underlying tones of love and joy to it. Marinette could tell that Luka was saying that he had fun with her and he was even more endeared by her than he was before. His feelings for her were growing. Marinette's could only look at him in awe.

Luka stopped playing after about thirty seconds and put his guitar away. He leveled his gaze to Marinette once more and gently put his hand over hers. Luka gave her a smile and started to lean in closer.

Marinette started to mirror his actions. Both young adults' expressions softened. Marinette had the faintest of pink dusting her cheeks. Luka had a smile on his face, clearly infatuated with her. Luka's eyes slowly shut and he started to pucker his lips. Marinette was repeating Luka, and her eyes slowly began to close.

Just when they were about to share their first kiss, Luka's phone just _had_ to ring.

 _'Damnit, who could be calling me at a time like this? Talk about ruining the moment!'_ Luka thought, a little annoyed at the interruption.

He pulled out his phone and realized that it was Nino calling him.

"Nino?" Luka asked aloud, as he stood up and picked up the phone. "What's going on?"

 _"WHAT'S GOING ON?!"_ Nino shouted over the other end. Luka pulled his phone away, surprised at the sudden loudness. "We've got an emergency with the band! I know that you're on a date with Marinette right now, but this is important!"

"What happened?" Luka asked.

"I'll explain later! Just get back to the boat ASAP!" Nino shouted before hanging up.

Luka sighed before placing his phone back in his pocket.

"Sorry Marinette," Luka said. "I hate to end this early, but the band's in a pickle."

"I heard. Nino was _pretty_ loud." Marinette said, sheepishly laughing it off.

"Before I go," Luka began, as he knelt down next to Marinette. "I hope to see you later."

"This was fun," Marinette said, smiling and blushing. "I'd like to do this again some time."

"Me too. Oh, almost forgot," Luka said, as he took something out from behind him: two roses, a red one and a yellow one with red tips. They were wrapped in pink florist tissue and the bundle was tied with a red ribbon. "Here, for you."

Marinette's eyes widened. She gently took the flowers into her hands and then the tint on her cheeks turned their volume up to eleven.

While she was shocked, Luka made a move and kissed Marinette on her cheek.

"I've gotta jam, no pun intended," Luka said, as he stood up and made to leave. "You okay walking home alone?"

"I should be," Marinette said. "The apartment complex is close."

"Good," Luka said, sighing in relief. "See you soon… Angel."

Marinette's eyes bulged out at being called "Angel." It was as endearing as Adrien's nicknames for her, but this was something so beautiful and simple that Marinette could not help but feel her heart pound.

As Luka started to jog back to the river, Marinette could only watch and wave as he left. Even when he was out of her sight, Marinette still sat on the fountain, holding the roses.

Letting out a lovesick sigh, Marinette kicked her legs in delight and tried her best not to squeal. However, realizing what she was doing, she shook her head to snap out of it.

"Ugh, what is _wrong_ with me? I thought I learned…" Marinette began, before standing up and making her way home.

She needed to clear her head and sort out her feelings. What was doing on with her?

* * *

 **And that's a wrap! Wow, this is the longest chapter of this story, yet. Now, for the sake of courtesy, I'll put in the meaning for one of those last two flowers in this chapter. The red rose is a no-brainer, so here's the meaning for the yellow one with red tips.**

 **Yellow with red tips: falling in love.**


	4. Feeling Off Key

**Marinette starts to realize - and deny - that she's falling for Luka and falling _hard_. Her friends try to convince her to accept her feelings for the guitarist, but will she listen to them?**

 **And later on, one major question will be answered: what was that emergency Nino called about? You'll find out once you read this chapter.**

 **Features "I Won't Say (I'm In Love)" from Disney's "Hercules."**

 **And I'm giving a shout-out to Spunky Kitten for several ideas for this story and help with some of my other pieces. Thanks, girl!**

* * *

As soon as she found herself in the safety of her apartment, she called up Alya and asked her to come over.

About fifteen minutes later…

"Marinette, I have _got_ to hear about your date!" Alya said, as she soon ran into the apartment and ran up to Marinette. "I'm getting the girls, sans Juleka!"

"Wait, you're calling the others?!" Marinette asked.

"Of course, girl!" Alya said. "We were all here for you when you and Adrien broke up. So, we're all going to be here for you once more now that you've found a new love!"

Alya then immediately texted Alix, Rose, and Myléne, and asked if they were all available to Skype on her computer because it was important. They all answered to the affirmative and they were all having a video chat.

"Hey, girls!" Alix said, her face popping up on the screen.

"What's new, Marinette?" Myléne asked, smiling at her friends.

"Any new romantic developments?!" Rose enthusiastically inquired, her eyes aglitter with curiosity.

 _"ROSE!"_ Myléne and Alix scolded.

"That was just in bad taste!" Alix stated, annoyed with the blue-eyed blonde.

"Rose, you know better than to say something like that. It's only been three months since Adrien and Marinette split." Myléne said, trying to be a little nicer to Rose.

"Sorry," Rose timidly replied. "It's just that Juleka's been telling me all about how Marinette and Luka seem to be…"

"Whoa, back it up!" Alix stated, her eyes bulging. "Who's Luka?"

"Juleka's brother," Alya elaborated, cutting into the conversation. "I'm not surprised that you two are caught unaware. Even Marinette didn't know Juleka had an older brother until their first consultation."

"Juleka's never been chatty, so I guess it's not that big of a shock in hindsight." Myléne said, shrugging.

"Anyway, Marinette has _just_ gotten back from a date with Luka!" Alya said.

The girls started squealing and chatting with joy at this news. They were happy that Marinette had found a new prospect in romance. Marinette tried to calm down her friends before going into details of the date.

"…Finally, he called me "Angel," near the end. We were so close to sharing a kiss... but I have to thank Nino for interrupting with that phone call. His timing was perfect." Marinette said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"That Nino! He ruined your chance to kiss Luka!" Alya ranted. "He is _so_ going to get it!"

"But it was an emergency," Marinette said. "You can't fault him for it."

The others were all nodding in agreement.

"She's right." Myléne said.

Alya calmed down when she realized Marinette and the others had a point.

"Glad we're on the same page," Marinette said, a blush adorning her face. "Anyway, this entire night was like something out of a dream."

"Oh, Marinette, it sounded like the two of you had a wonderful time together!" Alya said, a teasing tone playing about.

"I _did_ have a great time, but… It's so weird. It's like everything about Adrien disappeared from my mind." Marinette said, wondering what was happening to her.

"You're falling for Luka _big time_!" Alix said, trying to get Marinette to accept her new feelings.

"Yeah! It's clear that the two of you had chemistry going on!" Myléne said, agreeing with the pink-haired tomboy.

" _And_ he was considerate enough to actively avoid _anything_ related to the Agrestes and the Gabriel brand. You said it yourself: he checked to make sure that it was newcomers-only! It sounded like you were _really_ happy about that. He was like your Prince Charming." Rose actively insisted as well, her eyes growing big and romantic at the last sentence.

"There's no way," Marinette said, standing up. "I may have had fun, but… I can't be crushing on Luka. No way."

"Don't try to convince yourself otherwise, Marinette!" Alya said.

The girls were all speaking at the same time, agreeing with Alya, and trying to convince Marinette that she was, in fact, falling in love with Luka.

Music started to play, and Marinette held on to the roses. She sighed as started to sing.

 _"If there's a prize for dreaming too big, I guess I already won that."_ Marinette sang, as she saw one last picture of her and Adrien together. Having forgotten that she even had it, she tossed it out into the trash.

Alya and the girls could only look on as Marinette got rid of her last memories of her love life with Adrien. They listened as she kept singing.

 _"No man is worth the flat-out heartache…"_ Marinette sang, and then the music started to change its tempo and genre.

 _"That's ancient history! Been there, done that!"_ Marinette crooned, and then she tossed the roses behind her.

Alya caught them in her hands.

 _"Who d'you think you you're kidding? He's the earth and heaven to you!"_ The girls sang. Marinette sat on the bed next to Alya, trying her best to ignore her friends' statements. _"Try to keep it hidden. Honey, we can see right through you."_

 _"Oh, no...!"_ Marinette sang, trying to tune her friends out.

 _"Girl, you can't conceal it. We know how you're feeling, who you're thinking of."_ The girls once again sang, with Alya waving the roses in front of Marinette's face.

 _"Oh..."_ Marinette sang, brushing Alya off and standing up. _"No chance, no way. I won't say it, no, no!"_

 _"You swoon, you sigh. Why deny it? Oh-oh!"_ Alya sang, with the girls singing backup.

 _"It's too cliché! I won't say I'm in love!"_ Marinette sang in response, hugging her shoulders.

 _"Shoo-doop, shoo-doop... Ooh~!"_ The girls sang before looking at each other. They all knew Marinette's reasons for not wanting to give love another try, but they were growing weary of her stubbornness.

 _"I thought my heart had learned its lesson. It feels so good when you start out."_ Marinette sang.

She started having flashbacks of images of her and Adrien. Going to fancy restaurants together, walks in the park, talking about their potential futures with each other, all of their kisses, amongst other things. It was all hurtful to her that those dreams were shattered.

 _"My head is screaming, "Get a grip, girl! Unless you're dying to cry your heart out!" Oh~!"_ Marinette sang, her friends scatting in the background.

 _"You keep on denying who you are and how you're feeling. Baby, we're not buying! Girl, we say you hit the ceiling!"_ Alya and the girls sang, trying to convince Marinette to accept the fact that she had fallen for Luka.

 _"Oh no~!"_ Marinette crooned, trying to drown her friends out.

 _"Face it like a grownup! When you gonna own up that you got, got, got it bad?!"_ The girls sang, relentless in getting Marinette to come to grips with her feelings.

 _"No chance, no way, I won't say it, no, no!"_ Marinette sang, but she soon saw the bouquet from the other day on her windowsill.

She could not help but smile at the memory of getting the flowers and card from the guitarist.

 _"Give up, give in! Check the grin, you're in love!"_ The girls sang, with Alya taking the last line to _really_ get through to Marinette.

She was stroking the petals of the flowers, a loving gaze in her eyes. Almost immediately, though, Marinette realized what she was doing and backed away from them.

 _"This scene won't play! I won't say I'm in love! (You're doing flips. Read our lips: you're in love!)"_ Marinette sang, covering her ears and shutting her eyes, trying to block it out.

Marinette walked back to the bed, belting out, _"You're way off-base! I won't say it (She won't say it, no)! Get off my case, I won't say it!"_

Marinette sat back on the bed, her back turned to her friends.

 _"Girl, don't be proud. It's okay, you're in love."_ The girls sang, as Alya placed the flower bundle beside Marinette. Her hand landed on the plants and Marinette noticed them.

 _"Oh... At least out loud. I won't say I'm in love."_ Marinette sang, a smile gracing her lips. She held the flowers closer to her and she slowly laid back onto the bed.

 _"Sha-la-la-la la la, ah..."_ Her friends sang, happy.

"I guess you're right. I guess Luka's really gotten to me." Marinette said, a blush spreading over her face.

"I can see why," Alya said, laughing. "With the way you've described him, he _totally_ has your attention. Girls, can we all agree Luka's a good match for Marinette?"

"Yes, we can! But... This is Juleka's brother..." Rose said, voicing a concern.

Everyone understood what she was worried about: Girl Code.

"Don't worry, Rose. Luka made the first move." Alya said, Marinette nodding in confirmation.

"Ah." Rose said, a smile on her face.

"In that case, all bets are off." Alix said.

"That's right." Myléne agreed.

"So, you going to see him again, right?!" Alya asked Marinette.

"Yeah, but not right away." Marinette said.

"Why not?!" Alix shouted, with Rose and the others all murmuring and nodding in agreement. "Come on, don't beat around the bush, Marinette! You shouldn't leave him hanging. Ask him to go on another date after another two days!"

"Did you forget that the band had an emergency?" Marinette reasoned. "He should probably focus on getting that resolved, first."

"Can't argue with that." Myléne said, with Alix, Rose, and Alya all realizing that Marinette had a valid point.

"Speaking of the emergency... I wonder what it was?" Alya said. "Nino had _better_ not have called in a false alarm just to get details out of Luka!"

"Alya, cut Nino some slack," Alix stated, shaking her head. "It's probably serious."

* * *

"This is serious!" Luka declared, in a complete tizzy over what he had discovered when he got back.

He was pacing around the boat in concern... Or rather, what was _left_ of it. Just like Alix had suspected, Nino _did_ have a legitimate reason to call. While the entire band was gone from the boat, some goons had come onboard and trashed the ship. It was a complete mess. The food they had was stolen, several of their items - including a few of their instruments - were smashed and destroyed, and some furniture pieces were flipped over. The potted plants that they had were broken, the plants were crushed, and the soil was getting all over the deck. Then there was spray paint writing that came in several colors on the hull of the boat, around the interior, and all of the writings were insulting, rude, and cruel in some way. The deck had dents and breaks in the floorboards. One false step and someone could get stuck. The only _good_ news was that none of the money that they had in any form, be it cash, credit cards, what have you, was stolen. It just seemed like a case of some people who were making mischief for the fun of it and chose the boat at random.

"How the _hell_ did this happen?!" Luka angrily asked his friends.

He was angry at the situation, not his friends. He knew none of this was their fault.

"I don't know. None of us were on deck until about an hour ago. I recorded the time because the cops are on their way to investigate." Nino said, just as frustrated.

"That was a good call, Nino. Trouble is, even if the police _can_ find out who was responsible for this mess, we have a _bigger_ problem..." Luka said, as he gestured to the broken instruments.

"I know. How can I do my DJ thing with a broken DJ stand and speaker set?!" Nino complained. The speakers had severed wires that looked like they were cut with scissors or some wire cutters. The equipment on the stand was broken and it looked like it was deliberate.

"My bass is busted, too." The bassist stated, as he took up his base and saw that the neck was snapped cleanly in half, the strings were broken, and some of the tuning heads were missing.

The drummer saw that the top heads on his drum set looked like someone slashed a knife through them. And the cymbal was bent in some places.

"Great... Just _frickin'_ great!" Luka grumbled, slumping onto a chair that was intact and rubbing his face with his hand. "Our place is a wreck, some of our instruments are busted, our food is gone... UGH, and the wedding is coming up _FAST!_ This is a complete and utter _disaster!_ "

"Wait, speaking of broken instruments, what about Luka's guitar?!" The drummer asked, now that the thought occurred to him.

"Right here," Luka said, as he showed the boys the case on his back. Everyone sighed in relief. "At least _I_ was lucky. Good thing I brought it with me on my date tonight."

"Listen, Luka, I want to get details about what happened with Marinette _and_ satisfy my girlfriend's curiosity about your side of the story, but this isn't the time for that." Nino said, also agreeing with Luka.

"No kidding." Luka deadpanned, not amused in the slightest about this turn of events.

"So... What are we going to do once the officers launch the investigation?" The bassist inquired. "I don't think any of us have the funds necessary to replace the instruments."

No one had an answer. They were just as confused and unsure of what direction to go in as anyone else.

* * *

And as it would turn out, the next morning would reveal good news for Marinette.

Sabrina was at the office, reading a newspaper, but her body language suggested that the story she was reading implied that the news was anything but good. In fact, she had a pretty nervous look on her face.

"Looks like it's happening sooner than we expected..." Sabrina murmured, as she skimmed over the paper. "Marinette's _not_ going to be happy to see this."

Just then, the door opened and Marinette waltzed in, as if she was walking on air and she was almost spinning around and off in her own little world. Sabrina was confused about Marinette's good mood. But it was better to see her happy, so Sabrina tried her best to _keep it_ that way.

"Good morning, Sabrina." Marinette said. She was humming along to the tune Luka had played for her the previous evening. Her thoughts completely overtaken by him.

The redhead immediately stashed the newspaper away as soon as she saw her boss walking into the room.

"Oh, uh, m-morning, Marinette," Sabrina said, a bit skittishly. "Y-You seem to be in high spirits this morning."

What was going on? Did Marinette read the news already? If so, did she just not care one way or another? And was she celebrating because of her indifference? If that were the case, Sabrina decided to relax a little bit.

"I have no reason to be down," Marinette said, in a singsong tone. "I'm almost certain that today will be a great day!"

As Marinette made her way to her workspace, Sabrina breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's pretty optimistic of you, Marinette," Sabrina said, as she left her desk to go and print a few things. "I gotta go make some photocopies of the documents for one of our upcoming location shoots."

However, as she pushed herself away, she knocked several pens, pencils, stray papers, _and_ the newspaper to the floor.

Sabrina paled when she saw the newspaper strewn on the floor.

"Oh, let me help with that, Sabrina." Marinette said, coming over to her secretary to pick up her things. The redhead started to scramble to pick everything up before Marinette could get to her.

"Nonono! I-I've got it!" Sabrina squeaked, as she kept gathering the fallen objects. She made to the reach for the newspaper, but Marinette had gotten down and picked it up.

 _'Crap! If Marinette sees the headline...!'_ Sabrina thought, breaking out into a cold sweat.

"What's gotten you all shaken up, Sabri..." Marinette began, but then she saw the front page.

 _ **Heir to Gabriel Fashion Empire Adrien Agreste to Marry!  
**_

Marinette's eyes widened. Not because of the shock of the news, but because she was shocked that she. _D_ _id. Not. Care. One. Bit._ She was _completely_ unaffected by it.

Sure, seeing the face of her former beau after so long was a bit of a surprise, but she felt absolutely _nothing_ at the sight of it.

"I-I-I didn't want you to see it, Marinette!" Sabrina began, trying to smooth the situation over, but Marinette merely handed the paper back to Sabrina.

Sabrina looked at her boss and saw a smile on her face. The redhead was _dumbfounded_ that Marinette did not give a crap about the news.

"Marinette, why...?" Sabrina began.

Marinette merely smiled and said, "Old news, Sabrina. Anyway, I got to get to work."

Marinette started to skip a little into her workspace, humming to the tune that Luka played for her the night before. Meanwhile, Sabrina was pleasantly surprised that Marinette had no reaction to the newspaper. She breathed a sigh of relief and then took her phone out.

"I hope Alya's not busy right now..." Sabrina murmured, as she dialed Alya's number.

At her desk at home, Alya was typing away on her computer when her phone started ringing. Looking at the Caller ID, she was surprised that Sabrina was calling her. It was unusual for Sabrina to do that unless it was important. If she was calling, then that meant something major was going on. Alya picked up the phone and pressed the "answer" button.

"Sabrina? What's going on?" Alya asked.

"Alya, did you see the front page article today?" Sabrina asked over the line.

"Yeah. I assume Marinette saw it?" Alya asked. "How did she react?"

Alya was dreading the answer, about to head for the door for her apartment to help Marinette and let her offload all her negative emotions. After all, BFF's stick together in situations like that.

"It was like the article was about something that she wasn't interested in! If it were IT related, for example, she would just overlook it and move on," Sabrina said. Alya was surprised to hear this, but a grin grew on her face nonetheless. "And she was so happy about whatever was on her mind, too. Sheesh, what's going on with her?"

"I'll tell you what's going on, Sabrina!" Alya said, delighted to hear this news. "Marinette's found a new love!"

Sabrina's eyes went wide and she said, _"Really?! Who?!"_

 _"L-U-K-A!"_ Alya sang happily.

"Luka? She's fallen in love with Luka?" Sabrina said, a smile growing on her face. "That's great!"

"I know! Now Marinette's happy!" Alya said. "I know Luka will be a great match for her!"

"That's good news," Sabrina said. "Now she's fully recovered from her heartache!"

Sabrina and Alya were happy for Marinette, and were laughing with glee. Meanwhile, Marinette was in her office, looking through her portfolio and excited for the next dress that she would make.

* * *

Things might have been peaches and cream with Marinette, but on his side, all Luka was getting was sour notes.

The next morning, the police paid another visit to the boat to continue the investigation, and Luka was _not_ happy with the process. His mother, Anarka, was always adverse to the police, but Luka and his sister respected them. Did not make the experience any more pleasant.

"So it seems like this is just a case of vandalism and damaged property," Lieutenant Roger Raincomprix - Sabrina's father - said, as he wrote down the complaint report Luka and the others were making. He was talking to the drummer directly because Luka was talking with the boat insurance company. "And judging by what we're seeing, looks like it's the same bunch."

"Same bunch?" Nino asked. He and the other members of the band were also cooperating with the officers to help get to the bottom of their problem.

"Yeah, there's been an influx of reports similar to this. They're all the same: boats get invaded and wrecked, but nothing aside from food is stolen." Roger explained.

"I assume you're still working on finding the culprits to this," The drummer said. "Otherwise we wouldn't be in this mess."

Roger nodded. After he and the other officers took pictures of the scene, they all left and left the boys to their own devices, promising to find the vandals and get them behind bars.

"Just got off the phone with the insurance company," Luka said, as he came above deck and sighed in annoyance. His arms were crossed. "They'll cover the majority of the damages to the boat, we're going to have to pay the difference. And worse still, we're on our own for our instruments."

"This sucks!" The bassist complained. "What are we going to do?!"

"Cancelling on Juleka is out of the question!" Luka said, trying to weigh their options. "The wedding date is just too close to pull out!"

"Alright, bros, let's put our heads together and come up with a solution," Nino said, as he took out a pad of paper and pen and placed it on a partially intact table. "One at a time, everyone bounce off an idea and put it down on the paper."

Everyone nodded and they all started writing down their ideas to solve their instrument problem in time for the wedding.

"We could try doing recycled instruments. Get some recyclables and use those?" The bassist suggested as he wrote his idea down.

As everyone started posing suggestions for the wedding, Luka could only think about _what the hell_ they were going to do. And just when he was about to make a suggestion, his phone started ringing.

He picked up the phone and said, "Oh crap, it's Juleka."

"What are you waiting for, man?" Nino said. "Pick up."

Luka groaned and took the call. He put the phone to his ear and murmured, "Hey, sis."

"Hey, bro! I have great news! Marinette's fully over Adrien now! I heard from Alya this morning. Now there's nothing stopping you from pursuing her without any hesitation!" Juleka said.

"R-Really?" Luka asked, blushing a bit.

"Yeah, really! You going with me for the consultation later today? We still have some details to work out about the wedding." Juleka said.

"Um, yeah, about that... I might not be able to come at all." Luka stated.

"What? Why?" Juleka asked.

"Well... We've hit a snag over here," Luka said. "And I don't want Marinette to be too worried, so don't tell her."

"Hit a snag?" Juleka inquired, a little suspicious. "What do you mean "hit a snag," Luka?"

"We... Well, you might want to come to the boat and see for yourself." Luka sighed.

"...Alright, I'm on my way." Juleka said, sighing and then hanging up.

"She is _not_ going to like this..." Luke murmured.

Within a few minutes, Juleka made it to the boat and was given the whole story. She was shocked that her brother and his friends were robbed blind. And just when Luka was making headway with Marinette, too. Talk about bad luck.

"So you can't play at the wedding?" Juleka asked.

"I never said that," Luka said. "But getting this whole thing settled could take a while. And we don't have the money to replace the instruments. The only instrument that was left intact was the one that wasn't on the ship at the time: my guitar."

"At least you can still play guitar at the wedding..." Juleka murmured. "Did you guys try anything else?"

"We're pulling every idea we have out of our hats!" Nino complained. "What are we gonna do?"

"I haven't the foggiest clue, Nino," Luka said. "And the last thing I want is to worry Marinette."

"My lips are sealed," Juleka said. "When I see her today, I'll be sure to keep this whole thing on the down-low."

"Thanks, Juleka," Luka said, as he looked at the bag he got at the expo the previous day, and his eyes wandered to his pocket. "Meanwhile, I have something else I need to work on aside from getting this whole situation resolved..."

"What do you mean?" Juleka asked.

"That's my little secret." Luka said, neutral... But Juleka noticed a ghost of a smirk on his face. What was her brother cooking up?

* * *

Later that afternoon, Marinette was getting the dress ready to show Juleka. Though she knew to keep it professional, she was also looking forward to seeing Luka again. She was still humming the song she sang with the girls the previous night, not at all worried about things to come.

 _'Life is sweet! And the best part is, I get to see him later today!'_ Marinette thought, still humming a little bit as she put the dress on its hanger onto the display.

There was a knock on the door. Marinette immediately drained her thoughts of blue hair and guitar music and then she said, "Come in."

The door opened and Juleka walked in... Alone.

"Hi, Juleka," Marinette said. "It's good to see you."

"It's nice to see you, too." Juleka replied, trying her best not to let her concern over her brother show on her face.

"Um, where's Luka?" Marinette asked, looking at the door and hoping to see a certain guitarist walk in and give her a smile.

"He's not coming today. Something came up." Juleka said, shrugging.

"Okay," Marinette said, not thinking anything of it. "Here's the dress. It's done, but I wanted to see what you think in case I need to make any changes."

Juleka silently sighed in relief as she Marinette brought the dress over to her. Looking it over, Juleka smiled brightly and then she said, "Oh, Marinette, it's beautiful!"

"Thank you! I'll be sure that it remains here and perfectly intact in time for the wedding." Marinette said, as she put the dress back on the rack and started to turn back to Juleka.

 _'Yeah, if everything with Luka and the band gets resolved.'_ Juleka thought, a bit worried about her brother.

"So, what other details about the dress did you want to talk about? It's almost finished." Marinette asked Juleka.

"Oh, um..." Juleka said, snapping out of her musings.

"Is something wrong?" Marinette asked, noticing Juleka's state of mind.

"Oh, nothing," Juleka said, a bit nervous. "Um, Luka hasn't told me anything, but how was your date last night?"

Marinette brightened and said, "Oh, Juleka, Luka and I had the best time last night!"

 _'Good, the change of subject seemed to keep her in the dark._ _'_ Juleka thought, a bit relieved that her friend did not seem to suspect anything.

She listened intently as Marinette went on and on about her date with Luka and how the two of them nearly kissed each other that evening. Juleka _hated_ keeping Marinette out of the loop, but Luka did not want Marinette to be concerned about him to the point where it affected her work. And knowing Marinette, even if she _was_ able to leave her worries at the door, that would not stop Marinette from thinking about Luka and wanting to help him. But Juleka knew that this was her and Luka's problem. Dress aside, Juleka and her brother agreed that Marinette should not have to concern herself with _anything_ about the wedding.

* * *

After that, a couple of days passed by, and days turned into about a week. Marinette and Luka had no time to contact each other. Since Marinette was kept busy by working with her clients and brides, she was not bothered by not getting a phone call or text from her guitar-playing beau. She knew he was playing the music at Juleka's wedding, so she had assumed that he was working on rehearsals with the band. And she was also under the impression that Luka was enjoying himself and everything was nothing but sunshine for him, too.

Oh, how wrong she was.

Luka was scrambling to find a way to save his sister's wedding. Or rather, save his band. Everyone in the band had split up and started going around to try and test out the solutions that they each came up with.

Each day at a specific time, they would meet up at Nino's place. Since the boat was technically a crime scene, the band was barred from going on the boat until the police gave the all clear.

One particular day, everyone had once again came up empty-handed and they were all at Nino's apartment. Juleka was joining them once more. They were all sharing in some food and drinks. They needed something to loosen up and figure out their game plan for the future. Needless to say, the one who was the most frustrated was the one who did not get his instrument destroyed. And he felt horrible that his friends' instruments were damaged. The alcohol was only making things worse.

"This is a disaster. A _god damned disaster!_ " Luka complained, slamming his shot of whiskey on the table.

"Luka, you're wasted," Nino said, as he took away the whiskey shot and replaced it with a bottle of water. "We're all upset about this. But remember that we're not the only ones these mischief makers have hurt."

"I know..." Luka slurred, before taking up the water and drinking it up. "But this has been stressin' me out somethin' fierce..."

"He's drunk," The bassist complained. "Dude, I understand where you're coming from. We _all_ do. You made a commitment to your sister for her big day and you don't want to break it."

"The worst thing that could happen is that she asks someone else to play at the wedding if we can't get this sorted out in time." The drummer asked, sipping on his French 75.

"I won't have it!" Luka shouted, before hiccuping. "I made a promise to Juleka! I won't let her down if I can help it!"

"How can we follow through with our promise if our instruments are practically deconstructed and turned into scrap?!" The bassist said, trying to reason with Luka.

"We'll figure somethin' out... *Hiccup* Somehow..." Luka said, still slurring his words and continuing to drink water.

"He's totally gone," Nino said, face palming. "Luka, I think you need a break from problem-solving. None of us have a salary that lets us replace the instruments completely."

"Yeah, and I have a lot of savings I don't want to chew up with instruments, either," The drummer said. "You dig?"

"Yeah, I dig," Luka grumbled. "But I can't just let this go!"

He stood up and tried to walk, but he was so drunk that he stumbled with every step. Nino and the bassist stood up to try and make sure Luka was able to walk straight.

"Luka, calm down, man!" Nino shouted, trying to talk sense into the guitar player.

"How can I calm down?!" Luka moaned, not sure what to do. "We're *Hiccup* in _major_ trouble if we can't..."

Luka was about to keep going, but he wound up hanging his head and he fell asleep. And the stench of whiskey was there, albeit subtle from a distance.

"Okay, that settles it!" The bassist said, fed up. "Luka's got to sleep the booze off before we can talk to him!"

Within minutes, Luka was zonked out on the couch, under a blanket, his head against one of the cushions, and was sleeping like a baby. The others were in the next room, talking strategy on how to help him before he started to run on fumes.

"This whole debacle has been putting a lot of strain on him. He's been up late trying to resolve this." Nino said, worrying about Luka.

"The boat getting ransacked has rattled him more than we thought," The drummer agreed. "And we're all trying to figure this out, but Luka's been pushing himself too hard. He needs to take it easy."

"Tell me about it." The bassist complained loudly.

In response to the sound, they heard Luka snore a bit before turning on his side and stomach. Everyone relaxed, relieved that they did not wake up the brother of the bride.

The next morning, Luka sat up and yawned heavily. He looked at his surroundings and saw that he was still at Nino's.

"Ugh... Damn, what a headache," Luka moaned. "And I'm _so thirsty_... Must've had too much to drink last night."

"You can say that again," Nino said, as he came into the room with a plate of Belgian waffles with powdered sugar, maple syrup, and fruit. "You had about four shots of whiskey before we had to switch the liquor with water, man."

"No wonder I feel like a mess," Luka murmured. "Did everyone else go home?"

"Yeah, I volunteered to let you stay the night," Nino said, as he sat down on the sofa next to Luka. "You were in no condition to go anywhere."

"Thanks, Nino," Luka thanked, grateful for the DJ's help. "You're a real friend."

"It's no problem at all. Our band is a team, so we have to stick together. Anyway, you hungry? I have enough batter to make another one." Nino offered, handing Luka the plate.

"No, not yet," Luka said, gently sighing. "...This whole thing with the robbery has gotten me so amped up."

"I know," Nino said. "The others and I are concerned about you. Is there anything you can think of that might help you take your mind off of this? At least for a bit?"

Luka thought over Nino's suggestion.

"Meditating alone will only get me so far," Luka muttered. "But what else can I..."

His gaze landed on the same bag from the fashion expo, and then he saw Marinette's face in front of him for the briefest of moments. He had an idea.

"Well... I always feel at ease when I'm with Marinette," Luka said, a blush on his face. "And I haven't seen her in a while. A date with my Angel is overdue."

"That's the spirit, Luka!" Nino said. "But don't call her up right now. You're still hungover."

"Agreed." Luka said, chuckling weakly.

* * *

Several hours later, Marinette was in the shop. She had just finished a consultation with a very friendly lesbian couple who were getting married. And their families were all for it, ready to attend. Marinette was happy to help by making the two dresses for the brides.

She was sketching the dresses in her book. One of the brides wanted a lot of ruffles and pleats while the other wanted something a little more sleek and simple.

Marinette's eyes drifted to her phone for a second and then she thought, _'I haven't heard from Luka in ages. He must be a pretty busy man...'_

Marinette thought about the possibility of Luka seeing another woman on the side, and it made her nervous.

 _'_ _No, no, no! Marinette, don't start putting yourself down now! Luka's a great guy and he likes you! He's probably just tied up with some other things right now.'_ Marinette thought, trying to get rid of those negative thoughts.

Just then, Marinette's phone started to ring. She looked at the Caller ID and saw that it was Luka calling her.

Marinette squealed with glee and then took the call.

"Hi, Luka!" Marinette said, overjoyed.

"Hey, Marinette," Luka said. "Nice to hear your voice."

"Oh, you're so sweet!" Marinette giggled. "I was just thinking about you."

"Same here," Luka chuckled back. "Sorry I haven't called in a while."

"You must have been pretty busy lately," Marinette said, twirling some of her hair around her finger. "I've gotten a huge influx of requests myself."

"That's good." Luka said, a smile in his voice. Marinette could tell that he was relieved about something, but what?

"It's great to hear from you, Luka." Marinette giggled.

"I'm glad," Luka said, a throaty chuckle escaping from his lips. "I was thinking... You free tonight? We could go on a date."

Marinette's eyes widened, as did her smile, and she said, "Oh, yes, I should be! I..."

"Good," Luka said. "May I come by your place for about 6:30PM?"

"Yes, that would be perfect!" Marinette said, blushing.

"Alright, then it's a date," Luka chuckled. "See you tonight."

He hung up the phone and then Marinette giggled with joy before sighing happily. She put her phone down and got back to her sketches. Though she was looking forward to her date with him, she knew better than to let her newfound feelings for Luka get in the way of the business.

Luka, meanwhile, had put his phone down and sighed romantically. He was excited to see his Angel again and wanted to show her a great time. He also had every intention of forgetting his troubles, even for a little while. Luka kept looking at the bag that he got at the expo and a smile graced his face.

* * *

 **Luka and Marinette have another date planned! But will Luka's worries about the band ruin it? Or will they have a great time? You'll just have to wait and see.**


	5. Hitting the Wrong Chord

**The drama is about to start! When Luka gets distracted on his date with Marinette, she is NOT happy about it and storms out! What is he going to do? Will he come out and tell Marinette what's bothering him, or will some of the others have to intervene on the problem?**

* * *

That evening, Marinette was dolled up in some of her nicer clothes - with a red and black ladybug theme as always - and waiting at the door of her room. She told Luka her address and which button to press to ring her doorbell.

Tikki was happily chirping in her cage. It was easy to tell that the bird was excited for her owner.

"Oh, I wonder what Luka is planning for us tonight?" Marinette asked her little friend. "Oh, maybe he found tickets to a concert! Or we're going to find that crepe stand from last time?"

Marinette looked in her mirror and double-checked on her makeup. She decided to do a smoky eye using rose gold tones and a little bit of copper. She put on some thick eyeliner and mascara, too. Marinette was also wearing red lipstick.

"And then maybe after tonight and a few more dates, he'll propose to me! Then we'll get married, get a small houseboat on the Seine of our very own, and have children... OOH, that would be a dream-come-true!" Marinette squealed, as she put on her wedge sandals and started fantasizing about her potential future with her man.

Just then, the doorbell to her apartment rang. Marinette squealed and ran to the door. She opened it and saw Luka, who was wearing the same outfit as last time. And he had his guitar case on his back, too.

"Hey, Angel," Luka said with a smile. "Ready?"

He held his arm out again and Marinette smiled while wrapping her arms around his.

The pair then walked out of the apartment, ready to have a nice time together... Or so both parties hoped.

Luka had taken Marinette to a casual restaurant that was known for jazz music. The band was up on the stage, and everyone was oozing confidence with the music they were playing.

The ambiance was perfect. The music was loud enough for everyone in the dining room to hear, but not so loud that no one could understand what the others at their table were saying.

Luka and Marinette had a table in the center of the restaurant. They were looking at the menus. Luka had used ChefsFeed on his phone to look up a decent place within walking distance, and this particular restaurant, "Maison de Jazz," had come up on the list. He looked at the reviews and the comments from other users and decided it would be a good place. The prices were reasonable, too, which was also a factor.

"The Niçoise salad looks great!" Marinette said, delighted. "And these profiteroles look delicious, too!"

"Yeah, the picture of their Chicken Provençal is _definitely_ making my mouth water," Luka chuckled. "And the créme brûlée looks fabulous."

Once their server had taken their orders, Marinette and Luka turned to the stage and watched and listened to the band as they played.

"Wow, I didn't know jazz music sounded like this. This is great. I'm usually into Jagged Stone or Laura Nightingale." Marinette said, as she listened intently to the music.

Luka merely hummed in acknowledgement. He seemed to be off in his own world. Yes, he was listening to the band, but not really paying attention. Though he promised them to the contrary, his mind was filed with concerns about his friends and the band.

 _'I wonder if Nino and the others are okay...'_ Luka thought. He was resting his face on his hand, and feeling really down.

Marinette noticed that he was a little preoccupied, but she just shrugged it off.

The music stopped and the people on stage got a standing ovation, minus Luka, who clapped absentmindedly. Again, this did not go unnoticed by Marinette.

 _'What's wrong with him? He seemed so excited about this tonight...'_ Marinette thought, wondering what was on her boyfriend's mind.

Once their food came out, Marinette dug into the seared chunk of tuna in her Niçoise salad. After swallowing a bite, Marinette started to talk about her work.

"These two nice ladies were so easy to work with. Their styles may not match completely, but I understood what they wanted..." Marinette said, happily going on about some of her other projects. Luka was barely listening, more focused on his musings.

 _'We've GOT to get this band back on track or the wedding will be ruined.'_ Luka thought, as he just picked at his chicken dish, not looking at Marinette.

Marinette soon saw that Luka was distracted, and so she snapped her fingers in front of his face and asked, "Luka? Luka, are you with me here?"

Luka soon realized that he was out of it, and soon his mind was back where it was meant to be.

"Oh, um... Sorry, I sort of zoned out..." Luka said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I can see," Marinette sighed. "Anyway, these women reminded me of the dynamic that Rose and Juleka had back in our school years."

"Really?" Luka asked, his attention focused on Marinette again.

"Really!" Marinette said, satisfied that Luka was actively listening to her.

Luka would contribute to to the conversation, but the majority of the time, he just barely gave Marinette any sign that he was engaged in their interactions. And he was absentmindedly eating his dinner, too. It was like he was there physically, but not emotionally or mentally. Marinette noticed this change, and she was worried.

 _'What's going on with him? It's like he doesn't really know or isn't interested in what I'm trying to say!'_ Marinette thought.

By the time dessert came around, Marinette had had enough of it and broached the subject.

"Okay. What's going on, Luka?" Marinette asked, finally acknowledging the elephant in the room.

"What do you mean?" Luka asked, noticing the tone in Marinette's voice was a bit serious.

"Luka, something's been distracting you all night." Marinette said, crossing her arms and leveling her eyes at him.

 _'Oops. I've been perseverating over the band's pickle so much that I haven't really paid Marinette any attention tonight. I must be giving her the wrong impression.'_ Luka thought, realizing what was up.

He was about to come out and explain to her what was wrong, but Marinette cut him off before he could say anything.

"Have you been bored this entire time?" Marinette accused, her mind running away with her. She was beginning to cry, a bit scared because of a thought that crossed her mind: Luka was not just bored, he was bored _with her._

"What? No! No I haven't! I could never..." Luka began, trying to placate his girlfriend. "Marinette, you know I..."

Not wanting to hear any excuses, Marinette snapped. She stood up from her chair and slammed her hands on the table.

"Forget it!" Marinette said, slapping twenty-five dollars on the table, and thus paying for her portion of the tab. "I'm leaving."

"Marinette, please!" Luka said, as he stood up and tried to get her to stop so he could talk.

Marinette merely ran out of the restaurant, ignoring Luka's pleas. Seeing that he had made her angry because he was too upset over the robbery, Luka groaned and bonked his head against the table.

 _'Damn it!'_ Luka thought, understanding the mistake that he made. He placed another twenty dollars on the table - he had calculated the total tab ahead of time when they placed their orders, so Marinette had paid for more than half of the bill. Thus, he paid for the difference.

After that, he chased after Marinette, worried about her and wanting to make things right.

Marinette, meanwhile, was making a beeline for her apartment.

 _'How could he?!'_ Marinette thought, covering her mouth while hiding her tears. _'What was going on with him?! What was he thinking about?!'_

Marinette did not look back at the restaurant. She was _raging_ on the inside and could not face Luka.

Luka darted out of the restaurant door and was frantically looking around. He caught sight of Marinette's ladybug-themed clothing out of his peripheral vision.

"Marinette, wait!" Luka shouted, before immediately running after her. "Please, let me explain myself!"

Marinette did not listen and kept running. Her tears were blurring her vision, and she was outrunning Luka completely. She made it to the crosswalk. It was giving her the green light and she did not hesitate to run across the street. Luka soon caught up to the crosswalk, but by then the light turned red and cars started driving past. He skidded to a halt.

"Damn it!" Luka shouted, stomping his foot. He crossed his arms and started tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for the light to change again.

Marinette kept crying and running away, her mind focused on one thing: getting to the safety of her home and away from Luka.

* * *

Once she crossed the barrier between the streets of Paris and her own little bubble, Marinette immediately slammed the door to her room, locked it, shut the lights off, and slunk down to the floor against the door. She buried her face in her knees and began sobbing her eyes out, her thoughts consumed by one question: who or what was on Luka's mind? Whatever it was, it was clearly of more importance to Luka than she was. And Marinette did _NOT_ want her heart shattered to pieces a second time.

There was a bang on the other side of the door, and Marinette froze up. Who was that? She dreaded the answer to that question.

"Marinette! Marinette, answer me! _Please!_ I know you're in there!" Luka shouted from the other side of the door. He kept knocking on the door.

Marinette refused to reply. She just covered her ears and kept silent.

"Marinette! Marinette!" Luka shouted, trying to get Marinette to come out and talk to him. Since she was not answering him from the door, he took out his phone.

Immediately scrolling through his contacts, he pressed Marinette's name and called her phone.

Marinette, her eyes saturated with her tears, stiffened when her phone started screaming with her ringtone. She looked at it and saw that Luka was trying to call her. She just let it ring, and ring and ring. She heard her voicemail message play out before the tone for recording a message beeped.

"Marinette! Please come out! I never meant to hurt you! Please! All I want is to talk to you!" Luka begged over the voicemail.

 _'Go away, Luka! I don't want to talk right now! I'm too upset! If you want to dump me, just do it!'_ Marinette thought, tears streaming down her face. She still kept her hands on her ears, trying to block out Luka's scared and worried voice.

"...Marinette, I'm begging you. Don't shut me out. Yes, you have every right to be upset. I _know_ I'm in the wrong here, but... But..." Luka continued, trying to get Marinette to give him the time of day.

Luka then realized that both he and Marinette were probably pretty amped up. No one can communicate clearly and effectively when upset. Chances are that even if Marinette _did_ speak to him, they would just end up having a fight.

"...Fine. I'll give you some time to calm down. I need to cool my jets, too. Just... Just please know that I care about you. A lot." Luka sadly said, before hanging up the phone.

The device went silent. Marinette looked at it. She also heard footsteps retreating. Luka must have realized that she wanted to be alone and gave her that courtesy.

 _'If Luka truly_ does _care about me, then what was occupying his attention?'_ Marinette thought, that question still on her mind.

Marinette picked up her phone and ignored the missed phone call and voicemail alerts on it. She went into her text message history. She immediately found her message board with Alya and texted her.

Alya: "Hey, girl! That was one quick date you and Luka had, huh? *Smiling face and kissing face emojis*"

Marinette: "About that... It didn't go very well *Crying face and disappointed face emojis*."

Alya: "*Red question mark and worried face emoji* Meaning? You two didn't break up, did you?!"

Marinette: "No, but I'm afraid that's what's coming."

Alya: "I'm coming over there ASAP!"

Marinette left the message at that. Better not argue with the journalist, especially at a time like this. It was only her second date with Luka and things were already looking bad.

Fifteen minutes later, Alya arrived at the apartment only to be met by a crying, worried Marinette. Alya brought Marinette over to the bed, and then they sat down.

"Okay, girl. Fill me in on what happened." Alya said, placing her hands on Marinette's shoulders.

Marinette explained everything. She told Alya how Luka _seemed_ normal when he came and got her, but then the situation went south after they got to the restaurant. Marinette gave details about how Luka was not paying attention to either her or the music around them.

She also told her best friend how Luka chased after her all the way back home and tried to plead with her to talk to him from the other side of the door. She even played the voicemail that Luka left on her phone for Alya.

Once the message ended, Alya's eyes were filled with surprise.

"Wow," Alya said. "He seemed so upset and worried about you. But he made the right call, giving the both of you time to calm down and clear your heads."

"I know! I _know_ he seemed worried! But I'm positive there's _something_ going on that he doesn't want me to know about." Marinette sobbed.

Alya was about to speak up and tell Marinette about the robbery, but then a thought bubble popped up above her head.

Nino was inside the thought bubble and he was shouting, "Don't you even _DARE_ , Alya! You _swore_ not to tell Marinette _ANYTHING_ about the boat getting robbed! Luka doesn't want Marinette to worry about him and the band!"

Alya internally grimaced. She _did_ promise Nino not to tell Marinette about the boat.

"Maybe he's seeing another girl on the side and was thinking about her?" Marinette suggested.

"Oh, _hell no_ , Marinette! That's out of the question. Juleka would have told you if he was two-timing! You know Girl Code!" Alya angrily assured Marinette.

"You're right," Marinette began, sighing. "But what was on his mind?!"

Marinette started crying into her best friend's chest. Alya just let Marinette carry on, but she was also thinking about the conversation she was going to have with Nino later. Once she told Nino Marinette just _briefly_ entertained the thought of Luka cheating... Oh boy...

* * *

About an hour later, Alya texted Nino and told him what she had heard from Marinette. Nino immediately called up Luka. Within an hour, the two men were at Nino's apartment.

Nino noticed that Luka was concentrating on something. His hands were moving in a repetitive motion, and it was hard to tell exactly _what_ he was doing. Next to him was the bag from the fashion expo.

"So what happened?" Nino asked, sitting next to Luka.

"I was too preoccupied by the band to pay attention to Marinette. She noticed and then she ran out from the restaurant in anger. I chased after her, but she wouldn't respond to me even from _behind_ her apartment door." Luka summarized, still working on... Well, whatever he was working on.

"Oh man... Thing is, Marinette _does_ have a tendency to let her imagination run away with her. It's gotten better over time, but still... Anyway, just got a text from Alya. She told me that Marinette thought you were cheating on her."

 _"She thought I was cheating?!"_ Luka shouted, incredulous. He stood up in surprise, his eyes were wide, and his jaw was about to drop.

"Only for a second," Nino said, trying to calm Luka down. "Alya immediately made Marinette dispel those thoughts. Juleka would have told her if you _were_ two-timing. And we _all know_ that you're _NOT_ that type of man."

"Damn it... I can't believe that she thought that I would _ever_ betray her like that. But that's what I get for not telling Marinette what _I'm_ going through. Couples are supposed to be able to confide in one another when they need to." Luka complained, face-palming in frustration.

He slumped back onto the sofa and got back to work on his project.

"At least you know where you went wrong," Nino said, placing a hand on Luka's shoulder. "And that's a good thing. Next time you talk to her, you just tell her what's up on before she hears about it from someone else."

"If she decides to even give me the time of day," Luka said, scoffing. "She shut me out. Even when I called her, she just let the phone go to voicemail."

Nino remained silent and just Luka vent.

"...I'll bet she's scared. Not that I blame her. She's been hurt before and I do _not_ want to put her through that again." Luka admitted to Nino.

"I know. And we know that you won't," Nino assured. He then noticed what Luka was doing and asked, "By the way, what are you working on?"

Luka smiled and said, "It's a surprise for Marinette."

Nino smiled, and then he placed a hand on Luka's shoulder before saying, "Don't worry, Luka. Everything will get sorted out in time for the wedding."

"I hope so. Because there was something I wanted to ask Marinette." Luka said, as he continued to work on his project.

"You're not planning on proposing, are you?" Nino joked.

"Hell no," Luka chuckled back. "It's too early for that..."

Nino and Luka shared a good laugh at that moment. But then Luka's mood plummeted when he realized that Marinette was probably not going to talk to him any time soon. She was probably still too riled up to think clearly. It was best to give her some space for a little while.

* * *

Marinette herself was worrying her head off about the whole situation. Even after Alya left, Marinette's mind was wrought with the fear that her heart would be broken again. She cried herself to sleep and she had nightmares about how she and Luka would split before long.

The scenarios ranged from Marinette catching Luka kissing another woman to Luka rudely and cruelly dumping her publicly. Marinette knew she was probably letting her fantasies run away with her, but she could not help it. She was just _so scared_ that her love life with Luka would end before it barely even started.

Marinette slept in late the next morning. Lucky for her, it was a weekend, so she was not going into the office that day. She opened her red, bloodshot, weary eyes. Her hair was a mess from tossing and turning and she was wearing comfortable pajamas. To say she had a rough night was an understatement. Not as bad compared to the night she and Adrien split, but it was bad nonetheless. And the worst part is, Luka and Marinette had not even broken up. _Yet_.

Her thoughts were racing. What was worrying Luka? Why was he so distracted? Why wouldn't he tell her? Or maybe he _was_ going to tell her at some point, but then she refused to pay attention to him. Once her head was a _little_ clearer, she realized that she was just as at fault as he was. And she could be completely off for all she knew.

But Luka was probably angry with her, too. So, she decided to give it a rest for a few days before talking to him.

Rather than perseverate over it, Marinette decided to go out on the town and distract herself with some shopping.

Marinette immediately got dressed, brushed her hair, put it in its usual pigtails, and then started to go and have some fun.

She was walking through one of the shopping districts of the city. Stores included little food stalls, small glass works, small boutiques that sold things from bags to books and everything in between. And she also saw small craft shops that sold materials such as beads, string, yarn, needles, and so much more. There was even a section for knitting.

"I wonder..." Marinette murmured. Just seeing the different colors, and the fact that the items that were in Caribbean blue stuck out to her was giving her an idea.

Marinette could see the vision unfolding in her mind. And soon, her fashion designer mindset had its goal created.

"That's it!" Marinette said, and then she immediately bought the fabrics from the stand. "I can make Luka something to apologize!"

Marinette immediately made to go home and get started on her apology present to Luka.

She passed the TVs in the window of the TV store, and saw was on the news channel.

"...In other news, a rash of boat vandalism cases continues to plague the city." Nadja Chamack said, reading off the news reports from her desk.

"Boat vandalism?" Marinette thought aloud, stopping in her tracks. That struck a chord because she knew that Luka lived on a boat. Marinette ran back to the window and decided to watch.

"The latest victim in this string of incidents is the owner of a boat named _"Melody."_ We go to Clara Contard for an update out on the field." Nadja said.

"Wait, _"Melody?!"_ That _Luka's_ houseboat!" Marinette said in surprise.

The screen changed to show the reporter, Clara was at the Seine.

"Thank you, Nadja," Clara said. "As you've mentioned, the owner of the boat _"Melody,"_ one Luka Couffaine, was the latest target of the perpetrators of the recent. As previous reports have said, several items on the boat were broken cruel language was spray-painted on the hull and interior of the vessel. The broken items include several musical instruments, potted plants, and furniture pieces. And like previous incidents, food was the only thing that was stolen. All forms of money were left untouched. We go to Lieutenant Roger Raincomprix for comment."

Roger appeared on the screen and said, "The investigation to find the perpetrators of these incidents is still ongoing. All boat owners are advised to not leave the boats unattended at night. If you have to, please make sure the ladders to your boat are inaccessible to anyone but yourself."

Marinette immediately turned away from the TV, and continued to walk back home in silent shock. Luka was robbed?! Marinette was speechless. She instantly remembered how her first date with Luka was interrupted by Nino's phone call.

 _'So_ that's _what the emergency with the band was all about!'_ Marinette thought.

How could she be so insensitive?! No wonder Luka was so distracted! He was worried about the band, his friends, and how he would be able to play for Juleka at her wedding! Yet he still took the time to go out on a date with her. And here she was, jumping to conclusions, too caught up in thinking about herself and her fears that Luka was going to dump her!

Regardless, why didn't he tell her this had happened? It was probably something he wanted to get resolved before talking to her about it. But wasn't she his girlfriend? Didn't he trust her to be there for him when he needed it?

Whatever the reason, Marinette knew that Luka was going through a hard time and she had to talk to him about this. She stopped where she stood and looked to her bag.

"I gotta call Luka!" Marinette began, and she reached for her phone. But she paused. He was giving her time to clear her head. She should give him the same courtesy.

He was probably still upset with her for the previous night and did not want to deal with her. And honestly, she understood why. So, she created a new goal: make a present for Luka and use it to ask him for forgiveness, and then politely talk to him about the situation with the boat.

She stepped on it and started running back to her apartment. The sooner she got to her sewing machine and got started on her gift for Luka, the better.

* * *

Meanwhile, Luka had a rough night himself. He did _not_ get drunk, mind you, but he was still up all night and got little-to-no sleep. His mind was racing with thoughts of not only fixing things with Marinette, but fixing the band, too. _And_ he was making all necessary efforts _not_ to think about the latter. Not even meditation, something he did regularly, could help him clear his head.

Nino and the rest of the band practically _forbade_ Luka from worrying about or trying to save the band. They had told Juleka everything, including how he got drunk _and_ how he and Marinette got into a fight the previous evening. Needless to say, she was worried about her brother _and_ her friend. Thus, everyone was in consensus that their problems with the band were affecting Luka more than it should. It was only the second date and he and Marinette had already hit a rough patch. So, they decided that Luka should focus on working things out with Marinette instead.

Nino had stepped up and let Luka move in to his apartment until the boat was completely fixed and the rabble-rousers were caught.

Luka himself was sitting on the sofa in Nino's apartment and was playing his guitar. As of right now, it was his only source of comfort and joy. Luka kept strumming notes and stopping. He would repeat the same sequence, adding a few more notes, stopping, and repeating. He also had some sheet music out and was writing notes on the paper before going back to playing.

He intended on playing this song next time he saw Marinette as a way to ask her for forgive him. Great minds think alike, indeed.

"I hope this works..." Luka murmured.

On the side, he still had the fashion expo bag on hand. He would take breaks in between playing his guitar to finish whatever fashion project he was working on.

"Hey dude," Nino said, coming into the common area. "You hungry?"

Luka did not register Nino's voice, instead too focused on his current tasks.

"Luka? Hello?" Nino asked, waving a hand in front of the guitarist's face.

"Oh!" Luka said, snapping out of it and _finally_ noticing Nino. "Oh, hey Nino. What's up?"

"I _just_ asked if you were hungry, man," Nino said, holding up his phone. "You want to order lunch?

"I'm not really hungry right..." Luka began, but then his stomach growled _very loudly_. " _Oh-kay_ , maybe I _am_ hungry."

Nino sighed and said, "Luka, you didn't get any sleep last night, you're working on _two_ things at once, and... Hang on, did you even eat any breakfast this morning?"

"No." Luka replied.

"Luka! You're running on fumes as it is! You've been doing this _all morning!"_ Nino said.

"All morning?" Luka asked. He saw that it was about 11:30AM on his phone. "Sheesh, you're right. I was working on a few projects for Marinette."

Nino smiled and said, "That just shows how much you care about her. But you need to take care of _yourself_ , too. She'll be so worried if she finds out you haven't slept or eaten. Hell, she'll probably feel _guilty_ because of it."

Luka nodded, realizing that Nino was right.

"Alright, let's eat," Luka conceded. "What would you like?"

"I heard that there's this new burger restaurant nearby," Nino suggested. "Burgers have been popular lately."

"They sure have," Luka said with a laugh. "I see why Americans like them."

"Yeah. Shall we order?" Nino said, holding up his phone.

"Let's," Luka said, nodding. His stomach growled again. "And _fast_."

Nino howled in laughter in response to Luka's chatty stomach, and then he said, "We're going to have to order you a big one, buddy."

Their food was delivered within the hour. Nino had ordered a medium-rare burger with cabécou cheese and arugula on slices are boule. Luka had a double-patty burger because he was _starving_. His was cooked medium with melted brie, onions caramelized in red wine served on slices of baguette. And both of them had sides of French fries.

Nino was chewing his burger with casual satisfaction while Luka was chowing on his in ravenous hunger.

"Whoa, slow down, man. You must be pretty hungry." Nino said.

Luka had swallowed his bite, wiped his mouth with his napkin, and he said, "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I _am_ hungry. And _damn_ , this burger is satisfying _and_ delicious."

Nino and Luka shared a laugh at this, and then Nino said, "So, what are you going to about Marinette?"

"I'm working on it," Luka insisted. "I've been at it all day."

"You can say that again." Nino laughed.

"And once I'm finished eating this thing, I'm going to have a meditation session, then I'll get back to it." Luka declared.

"Shouldn't you get some rest, man?" Nino asked.

Luka shook his head before telling Nino, "No. I want to make up with Marinette as soon as possible. I want to tell her everything, and we all know that I'm not the best with words."

"But that doesn't mean you should worry yourself to the point where you get sick." Nino said, putting a hand on Luka's shoulder.

Luka nodded and kept eating his burger.

"Knowing Marinette, she's probably freaking out about all of this." Nino murmured.

* * *

Was Marinette freaking out? Yes. Was she worried about Luka? Yes. Was she scared things were going to end between them? Yes. Was she crying over it, obsessing about it, and venting to Alya day in and day out? _Hell no_. Not _this_ designer. She could worry about it, or she could do something about it.

Marinette was not going to let her worries affect her work. Over the next few days, when she was not on the clock, she was in her apartment. She had her phone on silent and her sewing machine was running a mile a minute. Her colored pencils were dancing in her book and she was muttering to herself.

"Okay, now that I think about it, I don't know his size... Maybe I can make a rough estimate..." Marinette murmured, sketching something in her book.

While she was busy working on her present for Luka, she was unaware that she was getting several text messages and phone calls from said guitar player. Her phone was still roaring with messages from him, and each one was getting more and more frantic.

Luka: "Come on, Marinette! Please talk to me?"

Since her phone was on silent, Marinette was none the wiser to how worried Luka was.

"Okay, so band has to be woven next..." Marinette muttered. "Once this is done, Luka will _have_ to forgive me!... I hope."

She looked over to the materials and the sketch, before going back to her sewing machine.

Unknown to her, Luka had long since forgiven her. Back at Nino's apartment, Luka was meditating on the couch, trying to breathe, relax, and clear his head.

Nino had noticed that Luka had been meditating, only stopping to use the bathroom, eat, or work on whatever he was working on for Marinette. Nino was relieved that Luka was meditating and taking care of himself. At the same time, it was not like Marinette to shut someone out for so long, so he was concerned.

"So... Nothing from Marinette?" Nino gently asked.

"Not yet, no," Luka said. "I _want_ to talk to her, but she's making it hard by not saying anything to me."

"Did you try going over to her house?" Nino asked.

"Not yet," Luka sighed. "I'm trying to clear my head before I do anything."

"But you've been at it for days," Nino said. "Shouldn't you try?"

Luka fell silent, not sure how to reply to Nino's question. Nino walked out of the room, took out his phone and called up his girlfriend.

"Hey, Nino, what's up?" Alya asked.

"Hey, babe. Listen, has Marinette spoken to you about Luka in the past few days?" Nino asked, cutting to the chase.

"Other than the night they had that spat? No, why?" Alya asked.

"Luka hasn't done anything other than meditate and work on some things," Nino explained. "And she isn't answering his calls or texts. Have you called Marinette at all?"

"No, I've been pretty busy with some new articles for the newspaper," Alya admitted. "And she hasn't called _me_ about anything, either. Knowing her, she's probably working on something in her apartment and put her phone on silent so she wouldn't get distracted."

"Well, Luka's trying to fix things with Marinette, but she's not responding and it's making things difficult. Think you can help?" Nino asked.

"Leave it to me, babe," Alya said. "I'm going to march right over to her apartment and get to the bottom of this."

"Great! Thanks, Alya," Nino said. "Oh, by the way... Think you can help me out with something else?"

"Sure, what is it?" Alya asked.

Nino started whispering his plans through the phone, making sure Alya was listening carefully.

* * *

Marinette was in her apartment, and she was asleep at her desk. Whatever she was working on was finished and put in a nice, cylinder box with a black bow on top. Her phone was blowing up with a phone call from Alya.

Outside the apartment, Alya had arrived and was both upset and confused that Marinette was not picking up her phone. Not responding to Luka because she was upset was one thing, but ignoring her best friend? Marinette was either very sick in bed or something else was going on.

Alya immediately pounded a fist against the door a few times. At the sound of the loud noise, Marinette screeched and woke up with a start. She looked at her phone and saw all the missed calls and texts from Luka, and how she _just_ missed a call from Alya.

She heard the door bang again, and then she heard Alya shouted, _"MARINETTE!"_

 _"Coming!"_ Marinette shrieked, as she scrambled to her feet and then ran to the door. She threw it open to be greeted by a _pretty angry_ Alya Césaire.

"A-Alya, hi..." Marinette began, rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Marinette... You know I love you, but don't you "What's going on?!" me!" Alya shouted, causing Marinette to jump back. "You've been shutting Luka out for too long! Yes, the two of you had a fight, but Nino called me up to try and get you to stop ignoring Luka!"

"Shutting him out...? Ignoring him...?" Marinette began, confused.

"Don't play dumb, Marinette. Are you _that_ upset with him?!" Alya asked.

"Alya, I've been working on something for Luka," Marinette said, gesturing for her to come in. "My sewing machine had a real workout these few days. And you know me when I'm designing something at home."

"So you _did_ have your phone on silent because you were designing?" Alya said, before losing a sigh and smiling in relief. "Typical Marinette. Should've known."

"Want to see it?" Marinette began, as she showed Alya the box on her desk.

"Okay!" Alya said, and then Marinette opened the box. " _WOW_ , girl! You've really captured his style with this. I'll bet he'll love it!"

"If I can get him to talk to me..." Marinette sadly said.

" _He's_ been trying to talk to _you_ all week!" Alya said, face-palming. "He thinks you're _livid_ with him!"

"Oh boy... I hope he isn't too upset once I start talking to him," Marinette said, as she took the box. "I gotta find him and sort this out."

"Not yet, you're not!" Alya stated, snagging Marinette by the hand. "We're going to get lunch!"

"Lunch?" Marinette asked, but then she saw what time it was: 1:43PM. "Wow, it's late for lunch!"

"Yeah! Make sure you have your present with you," Alya said, as she placed the box into Marinette's hands. "You can go see Luka after we're done eating."

"O-Ok-AAAY!" Marinette shouted, as Alya dragged Marinette out of the apartment, but not without locking the door behind them.

* * *

 **And so the first major fight between Luka and Marinette has happened! And judging by their behavior, they're both aware of where they made the mistake _and_ they're pretty scared about what's to come. At the same time, they're both making efforts to make amends with each other. But what did Marinette make for Luka? And what is _he_ planning? But most importantly, _what on Earth_ are Nino and Alya up to?**


	6. Composing a Solution

**WHAT in the world are Nino and Alya up to? And what are they planning on to force Marinette and Luka to make up? Whatever it is, let's just hope and pray that it works. And another question I'm sure is on everyone's minds is this: what was Marinette making, and what was Luka doing?**

 **Oh, and just a note about the previous chapter: burgers _are_ , in fact, a trending food item in France. Once again, shout-out to Spunky Kitten for her help!**

* * *

Nino was pacing around his bedroom in the apartment. Luka was still meditating on the couch in the common area, and Nino was wondering how Alya was doing with Marinette. Was she trying to talk the designer down? Or was she chewing Marinette out? Nino was starting to worry that Marinette _was_ going to break it off with Luka.

 _'Come on, Alya! Hurry and update me! I gotta know what's going on so we can move forward with the plan!'_ Nino thought, still pacing and fretting.

As if it was answering his prayers, Nino's phone beeped, and the tone it played was the one he chose for his texts. Nino looked at the screen and saw Alya had texted him. He swallowed a lump in his throat before opening up the message.

Alya: "Good news! Marinette DID have her phone on silent while designing. Typical Marinette, am I right? *Face with rolling eyes and smiling face with open mouth and smiling eyes emojis* She made something for Luka! *Grinning face emoji* Ready for phase two of the plan?"

Nino sighed, relieved that Marinette _did_ care and that she was only working on a present for Luka. Now all he had to do was convince the guitar player to leave the apartment so he could see Marinette. He made his way to the common area while continuing the conversation with Alya.

Nino: "That IS good news. *Relieved face emoji* Don't worry, babe, I'll take care of it and get Luka out of here. *Thumb's up emoji*"

Alya: "*Smiling face emoji* Thanks, Nino! I knew I could count on you! *Kiss mark emoji*"

Nino: "*Smiling face with smiling eyes emoji* See you soon, Alya."

Nino put the phone away and turned around to Luka, who was still meditating on the couch. He walked over and shook him by the shoulder.

"Hey, Luka," Nino said, breaking Luka out of his focus. "I think you need a break. You've been cooped up here at the apartment for a while. Maybe for a bit _too_ long. Don't you want to get some fresh air or maybe stretch your legs a bit?"

Luka opened his eyes, acknowledging that he had heard Nino. After a few more moments of silence, Luka replied, "...You're right. I think I _have_ been in here for too long. Getting out is probably just what I need right now. A change of scenery might do me some good. Then I can go find Marinette and talk to her."

"Great!" Nino said, delighted. "Get your projects and bring them with! I think we'll be out for a while."

"What?" Luka asked, getting off the sofa. He put his guitar case on his back and was giving Nino a questioning look.

"Just trust me on this, dude," Nino said, giving Luka a "come on" gesture and opening the door. "Let's go and get some sun."

Luka quirked up an eyebrow, a little suspicious. He was always good at reading others. It was how he was able to tell that Marinette was hurting from a past love. So judging by Nino's behavior, Luka could not help but think that something was up. But he conceded and followed Nino out the door. He trusted his friend, and was not about to let him think otherwise. So, he was none the wiser to the DJ's plan.

Nino quickly shot a text to Alya, saying that they were on their way.

* * *

Alya was dragging Marinette down the streets of Paris to parts unknown. Marinette knew better than not to have any faith in her best friend. She trusted Alya with _almost_ everything. Marinette knew that there were _some things_ that you just couldn't tell your best friend, especially if she's a journalist.

"Alya, where exactly are we going? I know you said we were going to get something to eat, but where?" Marinette asked.

"You'll see," Alya said, with a knowing smirk. "Nino recommended this great place to me. So, I thought, why don't we give it a shot together?"

"Okay..." Marinette said, a little suspicious. There was more happening than her best friend was letting on, and Marinette was thinking, _'What are you hiding from me, Alya?'_

Meanwhile, Nino was pushing and shoving Luka down the street, urging him on.

"Hey, Nino, don't shove!" Luka shouted to the DJ.

"No-can-do, buddy! Alya and I know this great place, and it's getting late for lunch, so let's go and check it out! You might like it!" Nino said, lying through his teeth.

The scene changed over to a small, secluded part of the park, with a nice picnic set up made for two people. There was a basket, a pair of plates, some serving pieces, and a vase with some flowers inside. Alya had come by the park to set up the picnic ahead of time, and she had informed the park keepers that she would be back to use it later.

"C-Come on Alya, there's no need to be so rough!" Marinette squealed, trying to get the journalist to ease up on her dragging.

"Sorry, girl," Alya said, a knowing smile on her face. "Can't do that."

"What's with the urgency?!" Marinette asked, digging for answers.

"You'll see in a bit." Alya said, giggling a little bit.

Alya soon brought Marinette over to the picnic blanket. Marinette smiled and said, "Wow, a picnic? This looks great, Alya!"

"Now we just have to wait for the others," Alya said. "They should be here in 3... 2... 1..."

"Others?" Marinette asked.

"Hey, Alya!" Nino shouted, and then Marinette looked forward to see Nino, who was pushing Luka right towards her and the picnic blanket. "Brought Luka!"

"And here's Marinette!" Alya replied.

The DJ and the journalist shoved the designer and the guitarist together. They both stumbled closer to each other.

"Uh... Hi, Luka." Marinette said, blushing and averting her eyes.

Luka was also nervous, and was rubbing his arm nervously. His eyes were also averted.

"So, we'll leave you two to eat and acknowledge the elephant in the room!" Alya said, as she took Nino's hand and began to walk away.

"Did she seriously...?" Luka asked, watching their two friends leave them behind at the picnic.

"She did. Nino must've been in on it, too," Marinette said. "But like she said, we _should_ talk about it."

"Yeah, we should," Luka replied, nodding. He sat down on the picnic blanket and opened the basket. "Looks like some of your parents' goods are in here."

"They planned this whole thing out," Marinette said with a sigh and then she sat down next to Luka. "So..."

"So..." Luka repeated, not sure how to broach the subject.

Marinette sighed before saying, "...Why didn't you tell me your boat got robbed?"

Luka looked at Marinette in surprise, asking her, "How did you know about that?"

"It was on the news a few days ago. And from the sound of it, you're not the only one." Marinette said, looking Luka in the eyes.

"...I'm so sorry, Marinette," Luka said. "I didn't want you to worry about me and the group. You have enough on your plate with the wedding dress."

"Oh, the dress is done." Marinette said with a shrug.

"That's good," Luka said, taking out the breads and some of the other foods out of the basket. "But I didn't want this information to bog you down so that it affected your work."

"That was very considerate of you," Marinette replied, smiling. "But you should have been able to confide in me."

"I know..." Luka quietly admitted. "But this isn't something people just advertise blatantly."

"True," Marinette replied. "...This food looks great."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from your parents," Luka chuckled, breaking a baguette into pieces and handing one to Marinette. He noticed the box that Marinette was holding in her lap. "What's that you have there?"

"Oh, this?" Marinette replied, presenting the box to Luka. "I thought I'd make you something to apologize for how I acted."

"You didn't have to do that, Marinette." Luka chuckled, taking the box.

"I _wanted_ to." Marinette insisted.

Luka opened the box, and what he saw inside took his breath away. He extracted a beautiful, Caribbean blue fedora hat with a fairly short brim. The hat had a gutter dent in the front of it. There was a 4 inch black and white striped ribbon weaved into the band. There was a large, Caribbean blue treble clef pin on the ribbon, too.

"Wow... Marinette, this is beautiful! You made this?" Luka asked, examining it with gusto.

"I did... I'm glad you like it. I estimated your hat size, so I'm sorry if it doesn't fit." Marinette said, blushing.

Luka chuckled and put the hat atop his head. It fit like a glove, and it looked great on him. He gave Marinette a hug and replied, "Marinette, this is absolutely perfect. You're the best."

Marinette blushed and smiled, giggling. She said, "I'm sorry for thinking that you were cheat..."

Luka placed a finger on her lips and said, "There's nothing to forgive, Marinette. We both know where we went wrong, and we're both forgiving each other."

Marinette was still blushing at the sensation of her boyfriend's finger on her lips. He let go of her, crossed his legs and then took his guitar out. He told Marinette, "Actually, I have something for you, too."

Luka started playing a tune on his guitar. The song's tune expressed remorse and the desire for forgiveness. It changed to a happier song that expressed hope for better days to come. As Marinette listened to Luka's song, she wondered what she could do to help him. The band was in trouble, and Juleka's wedding was coming up.

When Luka played the last few notes on his guitar, he and Marinette sighed, content to be in each other's company. They were munching on the baguette pieces, some of the cheeses that were in the basket, too.

"Luka?" Marinette asked.

"What is it?" Luka inquired to her.

"Is there anything I can do to help you with the band? Anything at all?" Marinette asked, surprising her boyfriend.

"Marinette, your offer is generous and I appreciate it a lot. But just being there for me when I need it is enough." Luka cooed, hugging Marinette by the shoulder and rubbing her upper arm to soothe her.

"Not for me, though," Marinette said. "I _do_ have some savings that I could..."

"Don't even think about it!" Luka insisted. "That's money that _you_ earned for yourself. Don't waste it on me."

"I hardly think giving you the money to help you with the boat and your band is a waste." Marinette replied.

"That's sweet. But musical instruments are expensive and... I couldn't do that to you," Luka said, kissing Marinette's cheek. "I couldn't ask you for money to help the band, Marinette."

"Are you too proud or something?" Marinette joked, smirking.

"Pride has nothing to do with it, Marinette," Luka said, shaking his head. "I'd be taking advantage of you financially, and it doesn't feel right to me."

"That's very kind of you, Luka," Marinette said, sighing sadly. "But I want to help you somehow. You're my boyfriend, after all."

Luka smiled before the two young adults cuddled closer together. Luka rested his head against Marinette's.

Unknown to either one of them, Nino and Alya were hiding behind a nearby tree and keeping an eye on the pair.

"Whew... That's a relief," Nino said. "I was so worried that this would end badly."

"It looks like they're both admitting they were wrong," Alya said. "But the band must be in dire straights if Marinette's offering her earnings to help."

"Yeah," Nino sighed. "The problem is that none of us have the money to replace the instruments and equipment, even if we all pitch in. We all have savings, which for obvious reasons, none of us want to use."

Alya nodded, acknowledging the issue. She was also worried about her boyfriend and wanted to lend a helping hand, too.

The question was how.

* * *

Luka and Marinette had spent so much time in the park that the sun had gone down before they knew it. They decided to call it a night and head home. Luka was not going to let Marinette get back by herself, so he had every intention of bringing her home.

They were briskly walking through the city, never breaking away from each other. Luka was hugging Marinette by her shoulder, and he was proudly wearing the fedora. The lovers were smiling at each other and were happy to be together.

Even though she was satisfied being snuggled against Luka's chest, Marinette was still wondering what she could do to help him. By no fault of his own, he was going through a rough patch, and she wanted to do something. Her face fell, thinking about her boyfriend's plight.

 _'Luka's_ _going through such an ordeal... I wish I could help.'_ Marinette thought, trying to figure out how to help Luka.

The pair made it back to Marinette's apartment complex. Marinette walked to the door, before turning to Luka. The latter said, "See you soon?"

"Yeah," Marinette said, a bit of a melancholy tone in her voice. "See you soon."

Luka saw the sad look on Marinette's face, and heard the tone of her voice. He could tell that she was still worried about him. But before she could reach for the doorknob to go back indoors, Luka spoke up again, saying, "Marinette?"

"Yes?" Marinette inquired, looking her boyfriend in the eye.

"...Thank you for worrying about me," Luka said. "The fact that you're offering to help me... It means a lot."

"No problem, Luka," Marinette said, blushing a little bit and smiling. "Don't be afraid to ask me for anything. Anything at all."

Hearing that offer, Luka smirked and chuckled, an idea bubbling up in his mind. Marinette quirked a questioning brow up.

Luka settled down before saying, "In that case, there _is_ something."

"What is it?" Marinette asked, only for Luka to lean in and place a bit, wet kiss on Marinette's cheek. He held it for a few seconds before pulling away.

"Call you tomorrow, babe?" Luka asked, winking at Marinette.

Marinette's face went so red, it was almost purple, but she nodded and said, "I... I'd love it."

"Goodnight, then." Luka said, before turning around and leaving.

Marinette gave a sigh and smile before walking back into her apartment and sighed wistfully. As she entered her bedroom, she spun around while humming along to a romantic tune. Tikki seemed to notice her owner's mood and started chirping along in joy.

"Tikki, Luka and I made up! This is great! But..." Marinette said, but her face fell in concern. "I wish I could so something to help him..."

Giving him some of her earnings was out of the question. Luka made it _perfectly clear_ that he would not accept it.

Marinette then decided that it was best that she call in a meeting. Taking out her phone, she called up Alya. Within seconds, the journalist picked up the phone.

"Hey, Marinette! You and Luka made up, right?" Alya asked, chirpily.

"Yes, we did, but right now I need some help," Marinette said. "Can you come over and talk? And bring your laptop? I want to start another video chat with the others."

"I'm on my way, girl!" Alya said, before hanging up.

Marinette changed into her bathrobe and slippers to get more comfortable, waiting for her best friend to show up and help her out.

Within about half an hour, Marinette heard knocking on her door and then she shouted, "It's open! Come in!"

Alya took this as her cue to come in. She had her laptop on hand, and she walked over to the sofa where Marinette was sitting. She took a seat next to Marinette and asked, "So, what's wrong?"

"Well, I'm sure Nino told you, but the band is going through a hard time. Luka especially," Marinette admitted. "I want to help, but I... I don't know how."

"We'll figure something out. Time to call the girls in." Alya said, opening up her laptop and calling a video chat with all of their gal pals.

The icon for the video chat system appeared, a window opened on the screen, and the loading icon started spinning in circles. Four video windows opened, and the faces of Rose, Juleka, Myléne and Alix.

"What's up, Marinette?" Alix asked, smiling.

"Did you and Luka make up?" Juleka asked.

"Yep," Marinette said. "But now we have a bigger problem. Rose, Juleka, I'm sure you two know what I'm talking about."

Rose gave a somber nod while Juleka sighed sadly. She also gave an affirmative hum before saying, "Right, the band."

"The band? What happened?" Myléne asked, a bit worried.

"You see, it all started the night of our first date." Marinette explained.

"Remember the emergency Nino called about?" Alya asked Myléne and Alix.

"Yeah, what about it?" Alix asked.

"She's right. What does Nino's phone call have to do with this?" Myléne asked, looking at Alya and Marinette with worry.

"Well..." Marinette continued.

Marinette, Juleka, and Alya started to explain everything about the situation from the beginning. What Nino was actually calling about, how bad the damage was, and how it led to Marinette and Luka getting into a huge fight. All of the women in the room expressed concern about Luka and his group.

"I want to be able to help him. I even offered up some of my savings, but... He wouldn't hear of it. He told me that it was _my_ money, and he wanted me to keep it." Marinette said.

"Considerate guy," Alix said. "But if he won't accept money from you, then what are you going to do?"

"That's what I'm worried about," Marinette replied. "I haven't the foggiest clue. Think you can help?"

"Okay, let's put our heads together!" Rose said, every the spritely one.

Everyone started to hum and murmur, trying to think of a plan to help Luka and the group.

After several minutes, everyone else seemed to draw a blank.

"I'm not thinking of anything," Myléne said. "Rose? Juleka? What about you two?"

The girls merely shook their heads, absolutely clueless.

"How about you, Alix?" Alya asked.

"Nothing," Alix said. "I mean, what _can_ we do? It's not like we can ask Tom and Sabine to give all of their bakery profits to Luka."

At this, the lightbulb went off in Marinette's head and said, "Alix, that's it!"

"What's it?" Alya asked.

"A fundraiser! We'll hold a bake sale as a fundraiser!" Marinette said, elaborating on the comment. "I know how to bake, and I can ask my parents for help, too. We can set up a stand and sell all of the goods we make! And every single euro we earn will be given to Luka to help him!"

"That's a great idea, Marinette!" Rose squealed. "I'd love to help you with this."

"Count me in." Myléne agreed.

"I'm on board." Juleka murmured.

"I'm in, too," Alya said. "I've picked up some tips from my mom, so I can help out."

"I'll help, too," Alix said. "I can skate around the city to spread the word with flyers."

"Great!" Marinette said, delighted that her friends wanted to pitch in and help her out. She took out a pad of paper and pencil and then held it up so the others could see it. "Let's get planning!"

The girls spent hours talking about what they wanted to do for their fundraiser. What they wanted to bring and sell, how they would sell it, would they start a "GoFundMe" page, etc. It was a lot of questions, but they were having a lot of fun.

Once they had a long list of ideas, they all agreed to meet up again and keep planning the big to-do. It was getting late, and everyone wanted to get to bed and rest up for the next day.

"So, we'll all rendezvous at Marinette's place tomorrow?" Alix asked.

Everyone started to clamor and murmur in agreement.

"Okay, see you all tomorrow, girls." Alya said, and then she hung up on the computer.

* * *

The next day was a weekend, so all the girls met up at Marinette's apartment first thing in the morning. They were all ready to help with any and all dessert baking possible. They decided to make test batches of their intended items and see how they would taste.

The group was making mini macarons and the tasks were split amongst the girls.

"Marinette, the powdered sugar, raspberry powder, and almond meal is all sifted." Myléne reported.

"Thanks, Myléne," Marinette said, as she separated the eggs to make the macarons. "Rose, Juleka, how is the white chocolate and raspberry ganache coming along?"

"We're warming up the raspberry juice and breaking down the white chocolate." Rose stated.

"Great! Alix, Alya, how is the syrup?" Marinette asked. Alya and Alix were working on a sugar syrup that would be poured into the mixing bowl as the egg whites were whipping.

"So far, so good," Alix said. "The syrup isn't quite ready yet."

"Okay, so that means the egg whites don't have to start whipping yet," Marinette said, as she checked to see if there were any stray yolks or shells in the eggs. "And the egg whites are in the clear."

"Marinette, the temperature for the syrup is at 112 Celsius!" Alya spoke up.

Marinette immediately turned the mixer on high to begin whipping the egg whites. Once the syrup reached 118 Celsius, Alya took the pot off the heat and started pouring the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl. The group kept whipping the egg whites until the bowl itself was cool to the touch before moving on to the next step.

Marinette folded the egg whites into the powder mixture, meanwhile Myléne put a pastry bag in a cup and folded the sides of the bag over the outside of the cup. She put a round tip inside the bag, too.

Juleka and Rose were working on the ganache. Rose poured the boiling raspberry juice over the melted white chocolate, while Juleka started to stir to mix the juice and chocolate together until it was fully emulsified and smooth. They poured it into another pastry bag and tip.

"Ganache is ready! We just need to cool it down so that way it doesn't ooze out." Rose said, putting the bag in the fridge.

"Nice work," Marinette said, filling the macaron batter into the pastry bag. She took it up and started piping rounds on a parchment-lined sheet pan. "How's the oven, Alix?"

"Haven't turned it on yet," Alix said. "What temp do you need it at?"

"150 Celsius please," Marinette said. "These need to rest for about half an hour before I bake them in the oven."

"Let's clean up and get started on the cupcakes." Alya said.

"Okay!" The girls said, all ready to see what else they can do.

While Marinette was cutting up strawberries, Alya was weighing out some cocoa powder, flour, sugar, etc. The others were getting the ingredients for the buttercream ready, too.

Everyone was busy doing their part making the mini batches of the products. Whenever there was down time, Marinette would work on designs for the flyers and the desserts. The girls would talk strategy about how they would spread the word. They knew that social media was going to be important, but they wanted to implement other tactics for this.

"Okay, so what about... This?" Marinette asked, presenting her design idea to her friends.

She had come up with a design. There were two hands above a sailor's hat. The right hand was holding a bag of macarons, meanwhile the left hand was a fistful of dollars. The slogan on the flyer was "To Save a Sailor, Buy a Dessert!" The flyer also explained the details of this sale, the reasons, the target earnings, etc., and the pricing for each item. The background was pale blue, the hat itself was dark blue with a matching anchor and a gold cord to represent the maritimer theme. The macarons were in different colors and there was a pink ribbon on it.

"This is great!" Alya said. "Marinette, you're a genius! Let's post it!"

Marinette immediately went onto her social media page and put the flyer up. She wrote a small blurb under the flyer, and then made the comment. She also printed a copy of the flyer and said, "Alya, could you go to the photocopy place and get about 300 of these printed?"

"Leave it to me, girl!" Alya said, as she left the apartment to go and get the flyer cloned.

"How are the cupcakes, Juleka?" Marinette asked, shouting into the kitchen.

"Out of the oven," Juleka said, placing the tin on the counter to cool. "And the frosting is ready."

"That's perfect," Marinette said, standing up. "Let's get back to work while we wait for Alya."

 _"Yes, Chef!"_ Everyone joked, and then the girls erupted into a fit of laughter as they made their way back to the kitchen.

Marinette put a star tip in a pastry bag and filled it up with the Swiss buttercream, meanwhile the others took the cupcakes - which came in chocolate, vanilla, etc. - out of the tins and put them on a cooling rack.

"Okay! Sprinkles?" Marinette asked.

"Check!" Myléne spoke up, taking out the sprinkles from the cabinet. "I can't wait to see how these turn out!"

Marinette started piping the frosting onto the cupcakes. Each time she finished a cupcake, one of her friends shook sprinkles onto them.

"Alright. Macarons are done; cupcakes are done. What's next?" Rose asked.

"The baguette dough is done proofing. Let's get shaping," Marinette said, taking out a large bucket. "Ready?"

 _"Right!"_ The others said.

Everyone started scaling off dough balls and shaping them into baguettes. Marinette led the crew, teaching her friends the tricks and tips she had learned from her parents to make the perfect baguettes.

Marinette took out the scoring tool and scored all of the baguettes. She opened the oven, which had a heated pizza stone in the middle rack, and used a peel to put the baguettes on the stone. She poured water inside the oven, and immediately slammed the door shut to let the bread pieces bake.

Meanwhile, Alya was carrying a box of the completed flyers and was walking back to Marinette's place. There was a small gust of wind and one of the flyers flew off the pile and blew away. Alya paid it no mind and kept going.

The flyer blew a few meters away, and it landed on the windshield of a limousine. The car screeched to a halt and pulled over.

"Why did you stop?" A voice asked.

"My apologies, sir, but something has hit the windshield." The driver replied.

"What is it?" The passenger in the back asked.

The driver got out of the limousine and went to take the flyer off the windshield. He went back into the car, and handed the flyer to the person behind him. He said, "Apparently its a fundraiser for the victims of the recent boat vandalisms."

"I see." The same passenger said, a smile coming into his voice.

Back with the girls, they were hard at work, and Alya arrived soon thereafter with the flyers. Within a few hours, they had a variety of baked goods on the counter. Cupcakes of several varieties, macarons, baguettes, etc.

"Everything looks great! Thanks for your help, girls," Marinette said, turning to her friends. "And they all pass the taste test, too. I think this will work."

"Now all we need to do is see if your parents will help us make these en masse." Rose stated.

"Don't worry, I asked them about it earlier and they said they would help." Marinette said, giving her friends a thumb's up.

"That's perfect!" Alya said, and then the group shared a high-five. "The flyers are done, too. Shall we, ladies?"

"I'll take most of them," Alix offered, taking a large stack of the flyers. "I have my rollerblades, so I can cover more ground faster."

"Great! Everyone else, let's get out there and spread the word!" Marinette said, nodding happily.

The team split up and started to give the flyers out to everyone. Alya, being the blogger of the group, kept an eye on the traffic on the social media post. Myléne went around, politely asked people what they knew about the vandalism cases, and then handed them a flyer. Juleka used the fact that her brother was a victim to get people interested, and handed them a flyer. And Rose's bubbly nature and selflessness also resonated with others, so it was easy for her to get others to come to the fundraiser. Alix skated around, throwing flyers in the air and shouting about the fundraiser.

Marinette handed out samples of their work and then asked people what they thought. And then she handed them a flyer before explaining the reasons for it.

All but 38 flyers were given out by the time the sun started going down.

"So, we're down to only 38 flyers," Alya said, walking back to Marinette's apartment with her friends. She was looking at her phone. "And the post you made is practically going viral. I think it's safe to say the turnout is going to be good."

"That's great!" Marinette smiled.

"Now all we have to do is get organized and make sure everything is done on time." Rose said.

The girls continued clamoring and talking about what they were going to do, completely unaware that the news of the fundraiser had caught the attention of someone unexpected.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nino and Luka were back at the former's apartment. Luka was still working on his music and whatever other project he had. The fashion expo bag was sitting next to him. Meanwhile, Nino was looking around on his laptop, just surfing the web with no particular destination in mind.

All of a sudden, he got a social media alert on one of the tabs. He clicked on it and saw the post for the fundraiser. He smiled and said, "Luka, dude, check this out!"

"What's up, Nino?" Luka asked, putting stuff down before walking over to the DJ.

"Look," Nino said, pointing at the digital flyer on Marinette's page. "There's no way Marinette was going to leave you hanging and not help, no matter what!"

Luka looked over the flyer and smiled brightly, saying, "What a girl."

"Yeah," Nino agreed. "I'm sure Marinette's going to give it her all."

"I'll be there to see the turnout!" Luka said. "What about you?"

"Apparently, Alya's helping out," Nino said. "So I'm going, too."

"That's great! I can't wait to see what they came up with in the flesh." Luka said, delighted.

Luka and Nino shared a high-five, excited that their girls found a way to help without sacrificing their own savings. It was nothing short of miraculous.

When the day of the fundraiser came, the turnout was _huge_. They were at the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. Alya, Juleka, and Rose were out front selling the goods. Meanwhile, Marinette was helping her parents in the back, baking more batches of the desserts whenever they were running low. Myléne and Alix were giving out samples to the people waiting in line.

"Marinette, we're low on the cupcakes!" Alya shouted inside.

"Way ahead of you!" Marinette replied, walking out of the bakery with a tray of fresh cupcakes. "Tag out?"

"Right!" Alya said, as she walked inside the bakery to take a turn helping Tom and Sabine.

Marinette came up to the stand and placed the cupcakes on the counter. She saw the number of people out in the crowd, and was pretty surprised at how many people wanted to show their support.

"Word gets around fast," Marinette joked. "Alya was right using the social media page. And the flyers were great, too."

"I'll take three chocolate cupcakes and a package of macarons, please!"

"That will be 15 euros." Rose replied, giving the young woman a small box with the cupcakes and the macaron bag.

The woman gave Rose the money, and then took the treats before leaving.

Rose put the money into the cash box that they had on hand. The plan was to go to the bank teller after the sale was over to get an estimate of how much they earned. Hopefully they would earn enough to at least help Luka and the band.

"It's great that you're doing this for these people," Another customer said to Marinette. "The rascals responsible haven't been caught yet, but this would still help them out."

"None of the victims had money stolen, but insurance payments can be brutal. My boyfriend was a victim, too, and I wanted to help," Marinette replied. "So, what can I get for you?"

"Three baguettes, please."

"Coming right up! That will be 12.75 euros, sir." Marinette said, bagging up the baguettes and handing them over to the gentleman.

"Thank you, young lady." He said, giving Marinette the money and taking the bread loaves in return.

There were still many people in line, clamoring and hoping for the desserts and breads that the group was selling. As the line shrunk, more people came in line to make up for it.

"Wow, the turnout so far is amazing!" Alix said, as she and Myléne came back to the stand. "We can't keep up!"

"Luckily we have enough goods to sell!" Alya said.

While the women were not paying attention, a limousine pulled up nearby the bakery and parallel parked against the curb. The driver exited the driver's seat of the car, went around the back, and opened the backseat door.

"We have arrived, sir." The driver said.

Marinette kept exchanging goods for money, unaware of who she was about to encounter.

"Okay, so two cupcakes, one package of macarons, and three baguettes? That'll add up to 23.75 euros." Marinette said, boxing up the cupcakes, bagging up the macarons, and placing all the treats in the arms of her customer.

"Thank you, young lady." The customer said, taking the treats and leaving.

Marinette was putting the money in the cash box when a shadow approached her, but she was not paying attention.

"Hello," Marinette said, not looking up. "What can I get for you?"

"I'm here to make a large donation to your cause, _Bugaboo_." A familiar voice said.

Marinette froze, dropped the money into the cash box absentmindedly, and then she picked up her head fast enough to get whiplash. Right there in front of her, was someone she thought she would never see again.

A coif of golden hair, eyes like grass, and a _model_ smile that was _picture-perfect_. The young man was wearing a trench coat and smiling at Marinette.

Luka and Nino were walking up to the sale to check out the progress of their girlfriends. Luka was wearing his hat, having decided to make it a permanent part of his wardrobe. That was how much he liked it.

"Wow, the amount of support out here is insane," Nino said, watching the people coming and going from the sale. "I guess this _is_ going to work."

Luka was agreeing with Nino, nodding and looking around at everyone, but then his eyes laid on Marinette and he froze at the scene unfolding. His blue eyes were wide with surprise and curiosity, wondering _who the hell_ was talking with his girlfriend.

"Luka, what's wrong?" Nino asked. However, he followed Luka's line of sight and saw the man who was talking to Marinette.

The others immediately saw who Marinette was talking to, and their jaws dropped in shock, surprise, disgust, horror, or a combination thereof.

 _"Adrien?!"_ Nino spluttered, shocked to see his old friend in the flesh after so long.

Adrien was staring at Marinette in affection; Marinette was gawking at her ex in shock and surprise; Luka was looking at the scene in anxiety.

Aside from Luka, everyone was thinking one thing: what was Adrien Agreste doing here?!

* * *

 **Aaaaand Adrien is back in the picture! But why? Knowing him, he's planning on helping out Nino. That's what bros are for, right? But what else could he be up to? And what's going to happen to Marinette and Luka now that he's back?**

 **I hope to hear some nice, friendly comments from you all!**


	7. Unexpected Arrival

**OH NO! Talk about expecting the unexpected. What in the world is Adrien doing at the fundraiser?! I mean, he's friends with Nino, so obviously we can expect Adrien to help his bro out, but... But what does he want with Marinette?! Well, we're going to find out in this chapter.**

 **Oh, and for some currency trivia for my readers: 1 euro is $1.16 in USD.**

 **And I'm wondering why I haven't seen any reviews for chapter 5. Think you can help me up the numbers a bit with some nice, friendly comments?**

* * *

 _"Adrien?!"_ Nino spluttered, shocked to see his old friend in the flesh after so long.

Adrien was staring at Marinette in affection; Marinette was gawking at her ex in shock and surprise; Luka was looking at the scene, curious.

Alya and the others were watching and were not liking where this was going.

"What the hell is _he_ doing here?!" Alya hissed under her breath.

"I don't know, but he's got _some balls_ to just show up in front of Marinette out of nowhere like this. He'd better not be here to break things between her and Luka." Alix threatened, punching a fist into her hand.

The other girls were looking at the blonde in distaste, too.

Adrien was unaware of the hateful stares that he was getting from Marinette's friends. He was still looking at her with a sweet look on his face.

"What's the matter, _Purrincess?_ Cat got your tongue?" Adrien joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Marinette shook her head. Was she sleeping and having a nightmare? Because there was just _no way_ Adrien was here!

"Adrien," Marinette cooly said. "What brings you here?"

"I heard about this fundraiser, and I remember that Nino and company were having trouble lately. So, thought I'd come out and show my support for my friend." Adrien slickly stated, making sure to look Marinette in the eyes.

Marinette gave him a deadpan expression, before sighing.

Luka was still watching, getting somewhat of an idea of what was going on. He looked at Nino and said, "That's Agreste, isn't it?"

"Yep," Nino said, popping the "p." "Judging by his body language, I can assume he's here not just to help out, but he's here to see Marinette again."

Luka shrugged and said, "I can't say that I blame him. Those two had a great thing going on before his father went and messed around."

Nino nodded, before asking aloud, "But the question is, why is he just showing up _now?_ "

"I have no idea. Anyway, my Angel is over there and I want to give her my thanks for her help." Luka replied, shrugging off any potential trouble that could occur.

He began to saunter over to Marinette and Adrien with intentions to talk to the former.

Marinette herself was having a hard time making conversation with Adrien after so long. He was _almost_ acting like nothing had ever happened between them, but

"Where's Kagami?" Marinette asked Adrien.

"You know her. She's pretty disciplined with her fencing, so she's practicing," Adrien said. "But that's not why I'm here."

"So... Is there anything I can get you?" Marinette asked, wanting Adrien to leave so she could get back to work on her fundraiser.

"Aside from two strawberry cupcakes, I'd like to donate a big amount of money to this," Adrien said, taking out his checkbook. "Anything for my friends."

"That's very generous of you," Marinette said, indifferently. She packed up the cupcakes, and handed them to Adrien. "The cupcakes will be 8 euros..."

However, Adrien handed her a check, and when she looked at the number on the slip of paper, her eyes bugged out.

 _"10,008 euros?!"_ Marinette screamed. "Adrien, this is too much!"

Adrien, still smiling, put a hand up and said, "Marinette, Nino is my best friend. When I heard that the band had their instruments ruined, there was _no way_ I was going to stand by idly and not pitch in. Besides, the rest of the money that isn't used to help with the instruments can go to the others who need it."

"...Thank you." Marinette simply said, putting the check in the cash box, breaking eye contact. She had half a mind to tell Adrien to buzz off and leave her alone.

"My lady," Adrien said, getting a bit serious. "Listen, about Kagami... She and I..."

"Hey, Angel!" Luka said aloud, approaching Marinette with a smile on his face.

Marinette smiled and sighed in relief, thinking, _'I never thought I'd be so happy to hear that nickname in my life!'_

She turned around to face her beau and said, "Luka!"

Marinette left the counter and ran over to Luka. She gave him a big hug and nuzzled her face into his chest. Adrien was watching with a blank expression on his face, surprised that Marinette was in the arms of another man.

"Angel...?" He muttered, confused at the term of endearment.

"I can't believe that you and the girls did this, all for me and the band!" Luka said, gently stroking Marinette's cheeks with his hands.

"Of course. I wanted to help you," Marinette said, smiling and giggling. "Since you guys need the money to replace the instruments, and you wouldn't take my own money, I thought, why not raise the money not only for you, but everyone else who got robbed?"

"Babe... You're a godsend!" Luka laughed, hugging Marinette and lifting her up. He spun her around in joy before putting her down. He gently held her face in his hands and started to lean in and kiss her when...

"Ahem." Adrien said, clearing his throat, getting the couple's attention.

Luka and Marinette looked at Adrien, breaking away from each other.

"Oh, um..." Marinette began, blushing, embarrassed that she was caught. Luka and Adrien made eye contact. Luka was giving Adrien a cordial smile, meanwhile Adrien seemed to be sizing Luka up for some reason.

"Excuse me, but I don't think we've met." Adrien stated, trying to be polite to Luka. Inside, though, he was pretty shocked that Marinette had a boyfriend.

"Hi there," Luka said, stepping forward and holding out his hand. "My name's Luka."

"Nice to meet you, Luka. Adrien." Adrien replied, shaking hands with the guitarist.

Marinette was visibly relieved to see that Adrien and Luka were playing nice with each other. Luka was definitely _not_ an instigator. If anything, he was pretty laid back and relaxed.

"So... "Angel," huh?" Adrien said, trying not to sound upset. But his eyebrow was twitching ever so slightly. Marinette noticed and swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Um, yes, that's what he likes to call me." Marinette shyly said, not looking Adrien in the eyes.

Luka turned to Marinette and hugged her by one of her shoulders. He smiled at his girl, and Marinette returned the expression.

"Adrien, dude!" Nino said, coming forward.

"Nino! Long time, no see." Adrien chortled, happy to see his BFF again. They shared a fist bump.

"Good to see you too, bud," Nino said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Didn't expect you to come by."

"I heard what was going on and what happened to the group," Adrien said. "Wanted to lend a hand financially. And if you need someone on keyboard, I'm more than happy to help."

"Thanks, dude, but there's no need for a keyboard player for the wedding." Nino stated.

"Wedding?" Adrien asked, looking to Luka and Marinette. He glanced at Marinette's hand, only to see there was no ring there.

"Juleka's wedding," Nino explained. "Luka here is her brother."

"Ah," Adrien said in understanding, with a smile and a nod. "So that's it."

Adrien was still looking at Marinette and Luka with a smile that had a slightly irritated hint to it. Marinette noticed this, but she was looking away from the blonde, clearly uncomfortable with his presence. Luka heard what was going on in Marinette's heart. She was _freaking out_ , all because Adrien was here. He understood why, though.

"I'll be right back, Angel," Luka whispered in Marinette's ear. "I gotta talk to Alya for a bit."

Marinette nodded, not really paying any attention.

Luka jogged over to Alya, who was glowering at Adrien. Luka whispered into Alya's ear, "Think you can take over? I'm planning on getting Marinette out of here."

Alya nodded in response, still upset with Adrien's unexpected arrival.

Luka slipped back over to Marinette. She was still refraining from looking Adrien in the eyes. Meanwhile, the blonde was still looking Marinette over as if she were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.

"Hey, Marinette, let me treat you to some ice cream at André's to say thanks for this fundraiser." Luka said, as he gently started to lead Marinette away from the crowd.

"Oh, okay." Marinette replied, understanding what Luka was planning.

"Hey, Marinette, hang on..." Adrien said, but Marinette turned her back on him and started walking away with Luka.

Nino stood beside Adrien. Adrien was feeling dirty inside, unhappy with the idea of Marinette dating someone other than him. Sure, he knew he had no right to think this way, but it was still hard to watch.

"So... Luka, huh?" Adrien asked Nino. "How long have those two been an item?"

"It's been almost a month or so," Nino began, trying to figure out how long Luka and Marinette have been together. "Why do you care?"

"I care about Marinette, plain and simple," Adrien said. "And I really need to talk to her, too."

Nino gave Adrien a sympathetic look on his face. He was wondering what it was that Adrien had to talk to Marinette about.

* * *

When they were a safe distance away, Marinette sighed and said, "Thanks, Luka."

"No problem," Luka said, smiling at Marinette. "I could tell you wanted to get away from him."

Marinette gave a nod. Her eyes were about to leak with salty tears. She turned her face away from her boyfriend, and her shoulders were shaking. Luka saw this, knew that she was about to start crying, and pulled Marinette closer to him. He hugged her by the shoulder, gently rubbing up and down her arm with his hand.

"Let it all out," Luka murmured into her ear. "Cry until you feel better."

At that, Marinette buried her face into Luka's chest and started sobbing her heart out.

" _Why_ was he there?! Aside from helping Nino out, I mean," Marinette cried. "I thought he was out of my life! _Permanently!_ "

Luka just kept his mouth shut and listened to Marinette cry. He kissed Marinette on the forehead before she continued to carry on. Luka hugged her to his chest, enclosing her in his arms.

"I-I mean... I know he didn't _want_ to walk out on me... Nor did he _like_ it. I know it hurt him to do it, too, but... But... Now all of a sudden he shows up like nothing ever happened?!" Marinette ranted, before continuing her crying fit.

Luka could not bring himself to be upset with Adrien. He knew the story, and from what he heard, Marinette and Adrien loved each other very much. If not for his father, Adrien would have made Marinette his wife and they would have lived happily ever after. But he vanished from the picture against his will, by no fault of his own.

Under normal circumstances, he was sure that Marinette would have been _thrilled_ to see Adrien again. Probably would have leaped into his arms. The only problem is that Luka had now taken Adrien's place as Marinette's boyfriend, and she was clearly happy with him.

"Marinette," Luka cooed in her ear. "You and Adrien had been in love for the longest time. What the two of you had was pure magic. And you were utterly devastated when it ended."

Marinette nodded, not looking up from her boyfriend's chest.

"And you've healed and moved on, too," Luka soothed quietly. "I'm sure that you're angry that Adrien's probably expecting you to drop everything and take him back."

"You're right. And I don't _want_ to take him back! I'm happy with _you!_ " Marinette cried.

Luka kept rubbing Marinette's back to comfort her. He could tell Marinette needed something sweet to give her a pick-me-up, and he had an idea.

He murmured, "I know I used it as an excuse to get you away from him, but do want to get ice cream at André's anyway? My treat."

Marinette looked up at Luka's blue eyes and gave him a firm nod. The two of them held hands as they started to go on a scavenger hunt to find the legendary ice cream maker of love.

It took them a few hours, but they found him. André had just finished serving an American couple. They walked away with satisfied smiles, which was always a joy for André.

"André!" Marinette shouted, waving at the ice cream maker.

The vendor turned to Marinette and gave a huge smile. He came out from behind and said, "Ah, Marinette, long time, no see! It's wonderful to have you here today. Where's Adrien? Is he on his way?"

Hearing that name only made Marinette's face fall. She looked down and was about to start crying again.

Luka looked at André and gave him a gesture akin to slitting his throat, a panicked expression on his face. André nodded, understanding that things between Marinette and Adrien had ended. André also took note of the romantic vibe between Luka and Marinette, and saw how the guitar player was holding Marinette close, comforting and being very caring towards her.

"I see that your love story has taken a new turn for you. Would you like some ice cream to help cheer you up? It's the least I could do." André asked.

"We'd like that," Luka said, and Marinette gave a teary smile. "Marinette and her friends put on an amazing fundraiser for me and my friends. Not to mention everyone else who got robbed by those boat-wreckers. This is my treat to give her my thanks."

Hearing that made Marinette feel a lot better, and she smiled at Luka, before leaning in close to him.

André, delighted that Marinette was still happy and in love, gave a big smile and said, "Alright, then! Let me make you a cone!"

He walked behind his cart and started building a cone while speaking in rhyme, "A beautiful, creamy treat most fair! Vanilla bean, chocolate, and blueberry for the love that the two of you share!"

He held out the cone. It was garnished a butterfly-shaped tuile cookie that had dark chocolate batter and blueberry jam swirled into it. There was a small amount nuts topping the sundae, and André put two spoons in the treat. Luka took it and held it, with Marinette's hand on the cone as well.

Marinette spooned a bite into her mouth, and she said, "Delicious as always!"

Luka chuckled as he took the other spoon and ate a bit of the treat. He told André, " _Merci._ Marinette and I will come by again sometime."

"Thank you, _mon amie!_ " André said, as Luka and Marinette started walking away from the ice cream vendor.

"Thanks again, Luka," Marinette said, blushing in gratitude. "You're the best."

"It's my pleasure, Angel." Luka said, chuckling and resting his cheek atop her head.

Marinette leaned in closer to her boyfriend's chest. Inside her purse was her phone. It was on silent so she could enjoy the moment with Luka, so she did not notice the number of messages she was getting from a certain someone...

* * *

When they got back to Marinette's apartment, Luka left her on the doorstep to the building.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Marinette?" Luka asked.

"...Yes." Marinette said, a little nervous.

Truth be told, she wanted to spend more time with him. And she had not let any other man inside her apartment since she and Adrien broke up (aside from Nino whenever he was there with Alya). This was an opportunity for her to take another step forward. If she invited him into her home, then that would imply that she wanted to be more intimate with Luka. She was hoping this would not blow up in her face.

As Luka gave a nod and turned to leave, Marinette found her courage and said, "Wait!"

Luka turned back to Marinette with a smile and asked, "Yes?"

"W-Would you..." Marinette began, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"Would I...?" Luka asked, prompting her to keep going.

 _'Here goes nothing.'_ Marinette thought, taking a deep breath. She outright asked Luka, "Would you like to come inside for a little while?"

Luka brightened at this offer and he replied, "I'd love to."

"Then come on in," Marinette said, opening the door and allowing her boyfriend some entrance. "I still have some leftover pastries from the practice runs."

Luka chuckled with a smile and he came into the building. With her arm wrapped around his, the pair walked through the halls and up the stairs until they got to Marinette's unit. Marinette took her key out and unlocked the door.

Leading Luka inside, Marinette shut the door and then the two of them sat on the couch together.

"You've got a nice place here, Marinette," Luka said, looking around the apartment. "Did you design and decorate this whole place?"

"Yes, aside from what was already here." Marinette said with a shrug.

"You're a pro, Marinette. Hey, maybe when we fix up the boat, you could come in and put your own touches on it." Luka chuckled.

"I'd love to!" Marinette replied, giggling.

Luka hugged Marinette by one arm and the two of them sat in comfortable silence.

"...Marinette, I know I've said this before, but thank you for the fundraiser," Luka muttered, kissing Marinette on the cheek. "You're the best."

"Thank you, Luka," Marinette murmured back. "I've been so happy since we started dating."

"I'm glad," Luka said, refraining from mentioning Adrien. "Your heart's tune is definitely a lot more chipper than when we first met."

"And it's all thanks to you." Marinette said to Luka. She turned her face to him.

Once they made eye contact, the two of them froze, each pair of sapphire orbs refraining from leaving the other. Luka's lips were parted slightly, as were Marinette's. Their hearts were pounding almost in perfect sync. The mood was right. They were alone.

The two of them were in their own world. Luka started leaning in towards Marinette. She mirrored his movements and tilted her head, closing her eyes. Their lips began to pucker up. Just when they were about a centimeter away from a smooch, though...

 _*Knock knock knock!*_

Marinette groaned in annoyance. She stood up from her couch before walking to the door. Luka himself snapped his fingers in frustration. How many times had he missed a kiss now? Whoever was interrupting now better have a damned good reason for it!

Marinette opened the door and to her complete and utter _shock_ , Adrien was there. He had changed out of his trench coat and was now wearing more casual attire. He was looking at Marinette with a serious expression.

"Adrien, what are you doing here?!" Marinette asked, appalled.

"Didn't you get my texts? I told you I was going to come by so we could talk." Adrien explained.

"What?" Marinette asked, taking out her phone. She saw the missed messages from Adrien. "Oops..."

"Was your phone silent again?" Adrien asked.

Marinette nodded, inciting a chuckle from Adrien. He rolled his eyes and said, "Same old Marinette."

"Anyway, your timing couldn't have been worse," Marinette said. "We were in the middle of something."

"Who's "we?"" Adrien asked.

"Me." Luka said, standing up and walking over to the door.

"Oh, you," Adrien said, deflating. "Did I interrupt a kiss or something?"

Marinette and Luka blushed before looking away. The latter of the two cleared his throat.

"That answers that," Adrien sighed, before looking to Marinette. "But I mean it, my lady, I-"

" _Don't_ call me "my lady." You lost your right to do that months ago." Marinette coldly told him.

"Sorry, Marinette," Adrien said, correcting course. "But this is important. I need to talk to you."

"Not here, not now," Marinette said, sighing. "I'm spending time with Luka."

Adrien's gaze darkened a bit at hearing that name, and then he saw Luka was sitting on the couch, looking a little grouchy.

"Okay," Adrien said, backing off. "...See you later."

Adrien walked away, but not without looking Luka in the eyes again.

Once he was gone, Marinette slammed the door and groaned before turning to Luka. She looked at him with a sad expression on her face.

Luka brought her back to the couch. He plopped himself on the sofa, and gently brought Marinette onto his lap. She hugged him close, not sure what else she could do. Luka discreetly tucked his hand under her shirt and started to gently rub her back.

The sensation was intoxicating and relaxing. Marinette's face got flushed and moaned. She rested her head against his shoulder. Meanwhile, he took his other hand and tangled it in her hair.

"Don't bottle it up." Luka stated.

Marinette sighed, taking this as an opportunity to rant, and stated, "I don't care what he has to say to me. Can't he see that I'm happy?"

Luka sighed, and then he told Marinette, "You really should talk to him, though."

"What?!" Marinette asked, surprised at what her boyfriend had just said.

"For closure," Luka continued. "If he wants to profess his love for you one more time, then let him get it out of his system."

"You're being awfully calm about this." Marinette told him.

"I've always been able to read people pretty well." Luka said with a shrug.

Marinette thought about what Luka was saying. If Adrien had something that important to say, then she could at least give him the benefit of the doubt and listen to him.

Luka took his hands away from Marinette and gently placed them on her shoulders. He looked her in the eyes and said, "I understand if he wants to make things right and get back together with you. On the other hand, that's easier said than done for a lot of reasons."

Marinette gave a nod, wondering what it was that Adrien wanted to talk to her about. But Luka was right: best to rip the band-aid off and get it over with instead of letting it drag out.

* * *

The following day, Nino and Adrien were at the boat, wearing lifejackets and with a first-aid kit on hand. The twosome were in a dingy on the water and had buckets of soap and water. There were a few buckets with clean water, and a few empty buckets to hold the dirtier water that they would discard later. The pair of best friends had decided to at least try and clean off some of the paint that was on the hull of the vessel. The paint was definitely not easy to wash off. Took a lot of elbow grease and soap.

Nino was scrubbing the hull with a sponge, trying to get the green lettering paint that was there.

"Geez, whoever did this has a bad sense of humor," Adrien complained, scrubbing the boat. "Some of the stuff written on here is _so rude_."

"Yeah, I don't understand why someone would do something like this," Nino said, also scrubbing the boat. "For their own sick, twisted sense of entertainment?"

"Who knows?" Adrien griped, but then his mind wandered to another issue.

Marinette and Luka. They were clearly in love with each other. Adrien himself had his reasons for coming back and trying to talk to Marinette, but the idea of her with another man made him a little sick to his stomach. On the other hand, it had been several months since he and Marinette had to split. And he would be lying if he said that he did not entertain the possibility of her getting into a romance with someone else.

"So... The fundraiser was Mari's idea?" Adrien asked, broaching the subject.

"Yeah. When she heard about the whole thing, she wanted to help." Nino began.

"Same old Marinette," Adrien chuckled. "Always wanting to help people who need it."

"Yeah. She initially wanted to give Luka some of her savings." Nino said, wringing out the sponge in one of the empty buckets.

Adrien paused, and then he asked Nino, "Did he accept?"

"Hell no," Nino scoffed with a laugh. "He immediately shot that idea down."

"Then how did she...?" Adrien began, wondering what inspired the fundraiser.

"Basically, Alix said something, and that gave Marinette the inspiration for a bake sale. Having bakers for parents certainly didn't hurt," Nino explained. "Anyway, we made a lot. Your donation was really helpful, too."

"No problem," Adrien stated, dunking the sponge in the bucket and then wiping the paint off of his spot. "Anything to help."

"Still, though, showing up without warning the way you did... What's going on?" Nino asked, broaching a topic that was bothering him. "Alya was pretty angry about it."

Adrien looked at Nino and said, "Really? I thought the girls would be happy to see me."

"After what happened between you and Marinette? I'm sure they don't want you stirring the pot between her and Luka." Nino said.

Adrien fell silent and pondered this new information from Nino. Were the girls really that worried about Marinette's happiness that they were all but shunning him? Marinette must have been really hurt.

"They know that it wasn't your fault. Your father went and separated you two," Nino said. "But they're worried about you getting in the way, trying to take Marinette back."

"Speaking of my father..." Adrien began, his face falling.

"Nino!" A voice shouted, and then the men turned around to see Luka, who was waving at them from the Seine's riverbank.

"Luka! Hey, man!" Nino shouted back.

He rowed the dingy to Luka and said, "Perfect timing."

"Thanks for pitching in to help fix up the boat. The claim's already settled, but this graffiti is a real eyesore." Luka began.

"No problem, man." Nino said, and he and Luka shared a fist-bump.

Luka turned to Adrien and gave him a smile before saying, "Adrien, thank you for helping out, too."

"Of course," Adrien said, a neutral tone to his voice. "Nino's my best friend."

"So... Adrien, can I talk to you? Man-to-man?" Luka asked.

"Sure." Adrien said, nodding in agreement. He stepped out of the boat.

The men started walking along the banks of the Seine so they could get some quiet. It was a little awkward, but it one of them was going to have to break the ice sooner or later.

"So..." Adrien asked, trying to get Luka to talk.

"You know, you really shouldn't be too worried about getting me upset," Luka said, turning to Adrien. "I get it."

Adrien gave him a questioning look. What was Luka talking about? Was he just jumping to conclusions now or something?

"I can tell what's going on in your heart. You still love Marinette, don't you?" Luka asked, cutting to the chase.

Adrien nodded with a murmur and said, "Yes. I... I didn't want to break up with her, but..."

"Don't worry," Luka said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Nino told me everything."

Adrien sighed before saying, "I can always count on Nino to help me out."

"Anyway, what is it that you need to talk to Marinette about?" Luka asked, hoping to pick Adrien's brain.

Adrien looked at Luka, wondering what his motives were. Why was he being like this? He was Marinette's boyfriend, so why wasn't he being overprotective of his girl?

"And why should I tell you?" Adrien asked, a bit guarded.

"Because you and I _both_ care about Marinette. A lot," Luka said, being up front with Adrien. "I don't want to lose her, don't get me wrong. But when she and I first met, she was so timid, scared, and was trying her best not to fall in love again."

"Never fall in love again...?" Adrien gasped. "But I made her promise me not to be scared of finding love with someone else!"

"Well, she certainly kept it, didn't she?" Luka chuckled.

Adrien laughed back in response, before saying to Luka, "Yeah, she did."

The men sighed, content, before Adrien turned to Luka and said, "You know, I think we're going to get along just fine."

Luka and Adrien then shook hands, happy that they were able to come to an understanding.

* * *

Marinette was working on a pair of dresses in the shop. They were for the same lesbian couple that she was working with the day she and Luka had their first real fight with each other. Since their tastes in fashion were similar, it was easy for Marinette to come up with a few designs that they both liked.

Marinette turned to the water bottle that she had on her desk. She drank out of it, and then noticed that she was running low.

"Low on water again? That's the fifth time today..." Marinette weakly complained, rubbing her throat.

There was a knock on the door. Marinette hoarsely said, "Come in."

"Marinette," Sabrina timidly said, coming into the office. "You have a phone call."

"Who is it?" Marinette asked, but then she saw the look on Sabrina's face.

The redheaded girl looked panicked and her face was pale and clammy. She was holding the phone with shaky hands. There were only two people that could get this reaction out of Sabrina. Chloé Bourgeois was one of them.

"Let me guess: Adrien?" Marinette asked. Sabrina merely nodded.

 _'Time to face the music.'_ Marinette thought. She was worried about hurting Adrien's feelings, but he had to talk to her about something and he was not going to just let it go.

Marinette held her hand out, asking Sabrina for the phone, and the redhead _reluctantly_ handed the phone over.

Marinette spoke into the phone, "Hello? Adrien?"

"Hey, Marinette," Adrien replied. "Are you available after work? I wanted to talk to you tonight."

"...Yes, I am," Marinette said, bracing herself. "Where?"

"Maybe that meadow we used to go to?" Adrien suggested.

Marinette thought about this. If she went to that same meadow with Adrien, then it could start up old memories, and then she would wind up torn between Luka and Adrien. That was the last thing she wanted. On the other hand, if she wanted to get this talk over with, she had to do what made Adrien feel most comfortable.

"Okay," Marinette said. "See you tonight."

"Thanks, Marinette," Adrien said. "I'll see you tonight."

Adrien hung up and then Marinette handed the phone back to Sabrina, who was giving Marinette a surprised look.

"What's going on?" Sabrina asked.

"Adrien just wants to talk to me," Marinette said. "I don't know what he wants, but it's best if I just get it over with."

"What about Luka? Won't he be mad about you talking to your ex?" Sabrina suggested.

"Don't worry," Marinette said, smiling. "Luka actually encouraged me to talk to Adrien and get closure."

"Luka _wanted_ you to do that?" Sabrina inquired, surprised. "He sounds like a pretty chill guy."

"He is," Marinette said, blushing. "Knowing him, he's probably read what's in Adrien's heart."

Sabrina gave Marinette a questioning look, as if asking what Marinette was talking about.

"He can read people pretty well," Marinette admitted, before continuing. "So, he could tell I was still hurting when we first met, and he also saw that Adrien still has feelings for me. But Luka's a pretty understanding and empathetic kind of guy. It wouldn't surprise me if he and Adrien became buddies."

Sabrina just listened to Marinette talk about Luka and what Marinette's plans were. Her boss seemed calm about everything and was wondering how the situation would turn out.

Marinette's blush did not seem to die down. She rubbed her throat, too.

"Marinette? Are you feeling okay?" Sabrina asked, noticing this. "You look an unhealthy shade of red."

"I'm fine," Marinette said. "My throat's just a little dry."

A few hours later, it got dark out, and Marinette was ready to hit the road and see Adrien. She had an awkward pit in her stomach building up from the nerves. Marinette knew that Luka would not get upset over this since he encouraged it, but she was still nervous.

The question she had on her mind: what did Adrien want to talk to her about? Whatever it was, it must be something really important if he had to show up unannounced.

As she stepped out of her shop, a fancy car pulled up in front of the store. Marinette watched indifferently as the chauffeur came out of the car and opened the passenger seat. Lo and behold, Adrien was sitting back there, and he patted the seat next to him. Marinette sighed, and then she got in the car.

Once the door closed, Marinette started coughing a little bit. Noticing this, Adrien asked, "Are you alright?"

"I... *Cough cough* I think so..." Marinette hoarsely said.

Adrien was suspicious of this. He had dated her for years, so he could tell whenever she was sick. Deciding not to push the issue, the pair sat in silence as the chauffeur kept driving.

After half an hour of driving, the chauffeur stopped at the meadow that Adrien used to bring Marinette to.

The pair got out of the car, and Adrien led Marinette out to the center of the flower patch. After a few more minutes of awkward silence, Marinette decided to say something and get the ball rolling.

"So, what's up?" Marinette asked.

"Well... You know how it was my father who split us up?" Adrien asked.

"How could I forget?" Marinette spat, clearly upset with the memory.

"Well, I have some news about father," Adrien said, a very devastated frown on his face. It seemed like it was really hard for Adrien to say. "He... He passed away recently."

Marinette's eyes widened and then her jaw dropped, before asking, "What?!"

Adrien nodded to confirm it, not looking Marinette in the eye.

"Why wasn't it in the news?!" Marinette asked, surprised that a high-profile fashion designer's passing would not have gotten out to the mass media by now.

"You know how private my father was unless it was related to his fashion work," Adrien shrugged. "Chances are, it's not going to get out for at least another week."

"Your father wasn't that old! And he seemed pretty healthy to me when I last saw him." Marinette asked.

"Well... It was kind of complicated. Father went to his routine checkup. They found something wrong with his lungs, and it turned out to be cancer." Adrien explained.

"Lung cancer?! But he never smoked." Marinette said, surprised at this news.

"I know, but that wasn't what killed him," Adrien continued. "The prognosis was so shocking that he..."

He was getting choked up and it was getting hard for him to talk. Adrien wanted to cry. Sure, things between him and his father were not always the best, but they cared about each other at the least. Marinette kept quiet and let him collect himself.

"He... Died of a broken heart." Adrien quietly murmured.

Marinette gasped, covering a hand to her mouth, and she muttered, "Broken heart syndrome?!"

Adrien gave a nod before saying, "Yep."

"But what does that have to do with me?" Marinette asked.

"He never left a will," Adrien said, turning around and looking at the meadow. "So, there was no legal mandate for me and Kagami to get married. All he did was make me promise to take over the brand. Other than that, with father gone, I felt like I could finally... well, breathe. Like a weight was lifted off my chest."

"So...?" Marinette asked, hoping Adrien would keep going.

"Since there was no contract or anything to bind me to my engagement to Kagami, the two of us peacefully ended it," Adrien said, turning to Marinette and gave her a smile with misty eyes. "She wasn't happy about the way my father forced me to break your heart, either. Trust me, it killed me inside to do it too."

"You... You felt like this was your chance to take me back, didn't you?" Marinette whispered.

Adrien gave a nod and he said, "Yes. I wanted to see you again to tell you the news. And hopefully, if you weren't attached to anyone, you and I could start over, and eventually get married."

Adrien approached Marinette and gave her a somewhat sad smile. He said, "But imagine my surprise and disappointment when I saw you were dating someone else."

Marinette blushed and looked away, not sure what else to say. It was hard for her to think. She was getting lightheaded, but not from the situation...

"Making you happy, loving you unconditionally, and being there for you through thick and thin... Hah, guess it's not my honor anymore. It's Luka's." Adrien said with a shrug.

Marinette said, "You're right, it's up to Luka now... But I'm surprised you weren't jealous about it."

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't," Adrien said. "I... Hey, you okay?"

Marinette was having a hard time staying upright, her face was red, and she seemed fatigued.

"I... I'm fine," Marinette said, trying to maintain herself. "I... I had no idea that happened."

"Anyway," Adrien continued. "I talked to Luka, and the two of us came to an understanding. He's a stand-up guy. I don't have any problem with the two of you being together. I still hope that the two of us can hang out and talk like we used to."

"Thanks... Adrien..." Marinette said, but then she pitched backward, her eyes closed, and she moaned.

"HEY!" Adrien shouted, catching Marinette with his arms. He then placed the back of his hand against her forehead. " _Mon dieu..._ Marinette, you're on fire!"

Marinette's breathing was labored and her face was redder than the ladybug-themed clothes she would often wear. And she was beginning to sweat, too.

Adrien helped her to stand and walk, and once he made it to his car, he shouted to the chauffeur, "Drive! Back to Marinette's apartment ASAP!"

"Understood, young master!" The driver replied, detecting the panic in his charge's voice.

He floored the gas and started driving back to Marinette's apartment complex. Adrien was holding Marinette in his lap and trying to get her to stay awake.

"Come on, Marinette, stay with me!" Adrien panicked, not sure what to do. He took his phone out and then called up Nino.

Back with Luka and Nino, they were still working on fixing the damage on the boat. Nino heard his phone going off and it turned out to be Adrien.

"It's Adrien," Nino said. "I wonder what's going on?"

"Maybe he wants to report on how it went with Marinette?" Luka suggested.

He immediately picked up and said, "Hey, bud. How'd it go with Marinette?"

"It went fine, but that's not important right now! Where's Luka?!" Adrien said, urgency lacing his voice.

"Um, he's right here. Let me put you on speaker." Nino said, concerned.

He pressed the speaker button and Luka came closer to listen.

"Adrien, what's going on?" Luka asked.

"Marinette's collapsed!" Adrien shouted. "A bad fever! You gotta get over to her place! _Now!_ "

Luka's eyes widened. He looked to Nino, who nodded, telling him to go and be by his girlfriend's side. Luka hit the ground running and started making a mad dash for Marinette's apartment, hoping to help her get better.

* * *

 **I'm glad that got resolved without any extreme fights or arguments, but now we have another problem: Marinette's sick!**

 **And before we sign off, I'm excited! Luka and Kagami are going to be making an appearance in upcoming episode "Frozer," along with the new ice powers! I'm sure my fellow Lukanette/Adrienette shippers and I will get more moments for those pairs! I can't wait! Hopefully we'll see more sides to Luka and that will make continuing this story a lot easier.**


	8. Feverish Tune

**Wow... Just _wow._ I wasn't expecting 5 reviews on this story within less than twelve hours of the update. Thanks so much! And sorry for taking such a long time. **

**And a bit of medical trivia: there _is_ such a thing as broken heart syndrome. **

**Now, let's get back on track and catch up with our group.**

 **SICK DESIGNER ALERT! Marinette's collapsed from a bad fever and now Luka and Adrien are going to have to work together to help her get better. But let's just hope everything goes well so Marinette DOES recover. I have a feeling things are about to get a _little_ wacky. *Giggles mischievously*  
**

* * *

Adrien made it back to the apartment. He was still supporting Marinette and helping her walk. When they made it to the door, he gently set Marinette down. Marinette was still breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

"Come on, come on, where is it...?!" Adrien frantically asked aloud as he fiddled through her purse. He was trying to find her room key. He found a keychain on the straps of the bag and then saw the key with the number to the apartment unit. "Bingo!"

He immediately helped Marinette stand up again. Using his free hand, he opened the door and led Marinette inside. He had been in here a few times in the past, so he knew where the bedroom was. He brought Marinette to her bed, and laid her down on it. He put her under the covers and made sure her head was on the pillows.

Adrien felt her forehead again, and he said, " _Merde_... Still pretty hot. Gotta get her an ice pack."

Adrien ran into the kitchen to get to the freezer, but the rug had been bunched up and he did not notice. He immediately tripped, fell on his stomach and slid face first into the wall. With a loud crash, a few items from above fell off the walls and onto his head.

He groaned in pain, wondering if all the racket woke Marinette up.

Luka knocked on the door, and Adrien moaned, "It's open."

Luka opened the door and dashed inside before saying, "Adrien!"

"Perfect timing, Luka. Thanks for coming so quickly." Adrien said, standing up and looking at Luka.

"No problem. So, how's Marinette?" Luka asked, shutting the door.

"Just put her in her bed. Hopefully she'll sleep for a while. I was going to make her an ice pack for her head, but I tripped and ran into the wall." Adrien explained.

"I hope that didn't wake her up." Luka said, scratching his head at the sight of the fallen wall decorations. He started picking them up and putting them back on their Command hooks.

"Me too." Adrien muttered.

"What could have happened?" Luka asked under his breath.

"What do you mean?" Adrien inquired.

"For Marinette to get sick all of a sudden." Luka explained.

"Oh, yeah," Adrien said, crossing his arms in thought. "Marinette usually takes good care of herself. But when she's on a roll with _something_ , she won't stop."

"That's it," Luka said, snapping his fingers. "She must of overworked herself. Between her job and the fundraiser, she probably didn't get much in the way of rest. I heard Juleka mention that Marinette pulled a few all-nighters, too."

"That makes sense," Adrien agreed. "Overworked, no sleep, etc. Wouldn't surprise me if she didn't eat, either."

"Let's let her sleep," Luka suggested when he looked at the time on his phone. "It's late and I'm sure we're tired. We can't help Marinette if we don't take care of ourselves, either."

"Good point. So we'll meet back here tomorrow. Plan?" Adrien asked.

"Plan." Luka said, and the two men shared a fist bump.

Adrien put the room key back on the counter and then they left for the night.

* * *

The next day, they arrived back at the apartment to check in on Marinette and see if she was feeling any better compared to the previous evening.

"I'm going to go and check on Marinette. Hopefully she's still asleep..." Luka began, hoping that his girl was sleeping like a log.

Luka quietly went over to Marinette's bedroom and gently opened the door. As he hoped, Marinette was sound asleep in bed, and she was looking a little better.

Luka heard chirping and then he saw Tikki in her cage. He smiled and quietly went over to her. Luka muttered, "Hi there. My name's Luka. I didn't know Marinette had a cute little thing like you."

He opened the cage and Tikki fluttered into Luka's hand. She chirped and squawked again. Luka brought the little bird up to his face. He rubbed her head against his cheek, and the conure started rolling around in Luka's hand and chirping with joy. Luka started to laugh, enjoying his playtime with the cute parrot.

Marinette's moans caused him to freeze in place. Tikki squawked again before flying on to his shoulder. Marinette tossed in the bed before waking up. She rubbed her head before opening her bleary eyes.

"Morning, sunshine." Luka said, a bit embarrassed that his reverie with Tikki woke up his girlfriend.

"Ugh... Morning, Luka..." Marinette muttered, her voice still hoarse. She sat up in the bed and looked at Luka, a little embarrassed.

"Adrien told me what happened," Luka said, sitting on the bed and looking at her. "Feeling any better?"

"A little," Marinette murmured, before coughing into her elbow. She saw her conure on the shoulder of her boyfriend and giggled. "I see you've met Tikki."

"Yeah," Luka chuckled, as Tikki chirped a bit and bobbed her head cutely. "I think she likes me."

"She's affectionate with people in general unless she can tell I dislike them for some reason," Marinette explained as Tikki flew off Luka's shoulder and onto Marinette's. "Thanks for checking in on me."

"Adrien's here, too," Luka said, gesturing his head to the door. "He was pretty frantic when you collapsed."

"That explains how I got here," Marinette said. "Collapsing in that meadow was the last thing I remembered."

Marinette swung her legs off the bed, making to stand up, but Luka put a hand out to stop her and said, "Hold it! What do you think you're doing?"

"I've got work to do," Marinette said. "I can count on Sabrina to cover for me, but my space is a mess..."

"Leave that to us," Luka said with a smile. "You just rest."

"But..." Marinette tried to protest.

"No "buts," Marinette!" Luka insisted. "You're sick, so we're going to take care of everything."

"Okay..." Marinette conceded, before lying back down. Tikki flew back to her little perch. "And while you're at it, think you can also take care of and play with Tikki every now and again?"

"Sure thing, Marinette," Luka began, before pulling the covers up over Marinette. "Now get some sleep. I'll be back to check in on you later."

Marinette nodded before closing her eyes. Once Luka heard her breathing, indicating she was asleep, he slipped out of the bedroom and back to the common area, where Adrien was waiting for him.

"So, how is she?" Adrien inquired to him.

"Getting better, but I told her that we would clean up in here and we need to get started. And we also need to keep Tikki entertained, too." Luka said.

"Oh, you met her conure. Yeah, I myself have a black cat, Plagg, but I _never_ brought him here and she never brought Tikki to my place, either." Adrien said.

"Really?" Luka asked.

"Really," Adrien replied. "But now we have to get to work..."

The young men started thinking about what they were going to do to help Marinette recover. Adrien was embarrassed to admit a few things to Luka, but he knew it was best not to hide it.

"Luka..." Adrien began.

"Adrien..." Luka also said at the same time.

 _"I need your help!"_ They said to each other at the exact same time. _"What? Why do you need my help?"_

"Well... You know Marinette better than I do. You dated for years. You know what's most likely going to help her recover faster. And I've only been in here once, so I'm sure you know what's where." Luka admitted first.

"You're right... And the reason I need _you_ to help _me_ is that... Well, when it comes to housework in general, I know diddly-squat." Adrien confessed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"What?" Luka asked, a bit surprised.

"Never really did much in the way of work other than modeling. Never been taught how to cook or clean. And honestly, I'm embarrassed to admit it." Adrien said, hanging his head.

"Did Marinette teach you anything when you were dating?" Luka asked.

"Yes, but... Well, I'm clumsier in the kitchen that I'd like to be." Adrien said, looking askance.

Translation: Adrien tried to learn, but it was harder for him than it should be.

"Alright," Luka sighed. "Let's get to it. First things first: this place is a bit of a mess."

Luka and Adrien looked around. There were places where baking ingredients had been spilled, a few dishes were still in the sink, there was dust on the floor, the cabinets were disorganized, etc. It was a mess, but it was not too bad compared to other places.

"I guess Marinette neglected to clean up in here during the fundraiser preparations." Adrien said.

"Yeah. Must've run herself ragged over the week. Come on, we'd better get started." Luka began, walking into the kitchen area. Adrien followed suit.

Adrien led Luka over to the closet where Marinette kept the cleaning supplies, and then the men opened it. It was organized, and Luka was able to tell what was where, which was a welcome sight for him. He and Juleka were used to living in a disorderly house because that was how their mother, Anarka Couffaine, kept their houseboat back in the day.

"Bingo. There's the vacuum and Swiffer," Luka said, taking out the silver and green instrument. "First thing's first, we'll vacuum up the floor, then we'll Swiffer up with the dry pads and then change over to the wet to finish the job."

Adrien looked confused. He had seen ads for products like this on TV in the past, but he was still confused on how it worked.

"Come on, I'll show you," Luka said, taking the pads and a vacuum out. "Follow my lead."

Luka demonstrated how to vacuum the floor. He plugged the appliance in and turned it on. He ran the hood of the vacuum over the kitchen floor. Adrien watched as the device sucked up most of the debris, leaving a trail of clean floor and tile.

"Wow," Adrien said. "I've seen that before, but I've never done it."

"Housekeepers always visited your place when you lived with your dad, huh?" Luka asked, meaning no disrespect.

"Yeah. Not really proud of it," Adrien admitted. "Better late than never for learning. Mind if I have that?"

"Okay," Luka said, handing the vacuum to the ex-model. "Try and get in the corners under the cabinet doors. Those are areas you can't really reach easily."

Adrien tried his best to follow Luka's instructions. He lowered the body of the vacuum to get under one of the cabinet doors. However, Adrien did not notice that the cord was in a loop and that he was about to step in it.

"Adrien, watch-" Luka began.

Adrien stepped in the wire loop and then when he pushed the vacuum forward, the cord loop wrapped around his foot and then he tripped. With a scream, he stumbled and wound up accidentally opening the vacuum's dust compartment, spilling some of the contents onto the floor again. Adrien stumbled until he managed to regain his footing on the other side of the kitchen.

The two men froze and then worriedly looked at the door to Marinette's bedroom, hoping that the crash and the scream did not wake her from her slumber. After a few beats and no change, the twosome were relieved.

"You okay?" Luka asked as Adrien regained his balance.

"I'll be fine. What's next?" Adrien inquired.

"Starting over..." Luka muttered, looking at the floors. Almost all of the debris from the vacuum had gotten back on the floor, and Luka was a bit bemused at the sight.

Luka took the vacuum again and started from scratch, before telling Adrien, "Can you put the dry pad on the Swiffer?"

"I think so..." Adrien began, before looking at the Swiffer and the pads.

He looked at the tabs on the corners and then Adrien intuitively put the pad on the floor, scrub-side down, placed the tool on top of the pad and stuck the corners of the pad in the lighter green tabs.

"Bingo!" Adrien said, as he started moving the tool around the floor when Luka was done to pick up what was left over. Adrien picked the cleaner up and saw all the stray dust and hair that got on the bottom of the pad.

"You're quick on the uptake." Luka praised, impressed that Adrien was able to pick it up on the first try.

"Thanks," Adrien said, as he switched out the dry pad for a wet one. "Now to mop the floor in here."

"Just be careful." Luka said, raising his voice in concern.

"Shh!" Adrien hissed, putting a finger to his lips. "Marinette's asleep! We need to keep it down."

"Yeah, nearly forgot about that," Luka whispered, nervous. "Let's get this floor cleaned up."

Adrien started using the green flat-mop to clean the floors. As he moved the wet pad across the tile floor, Adrien smiled at how he made the floor shine with each stroke of the Swiffer.

"So far so good, Adrien," Luka muttered. "Just don't walk on the..."

However, as Adrien turned around, he stepped on the wet part of the floor that he just went over, and then he slipped up into the air and landed on his rear with a loud bang.

Adrien howled in pain, and Luka covered his ears. His eyes widened as he glanced back to Marinette's bedroom door.

Just as Luka feared, Marinette was stirring and she moaned. She tossed and turned in her bed, and Tikki was chirping, disturbed from the sounds coming out from the kitchen area. After a few moments of silence, Marinette sighed before falling back asleep.

Luka sighed in relief and wiped nonexistent sweat off his face, and then he looked at Adrien and saw that he was rubbing his rear, biting his tongue to prevent a scream from leaving his mouth. Luka could have sworn that there were tears in Adrien's eyes from the pain.

"Okay, the floor's clean. Now we just need to get the countertops, the inside of the cabinets, the dishes, the walls, the rugs, the sofa, the laundry..." Luka began, listing off the rest of the tasks that they had at hand to help Marinette while she was sick.

Adrien was a bit nervous, but he decided to face the challenge head on, before muttering, "We've got a lot of work to do."

The men shared a high-five, determined to get the job done.

"Okay, next item on the list: time to clean the counters," Luka said, as he grabbed some cleaning wipes from the closet. He tossed the container over to Adrien. "Adrien, can you get start on wiping the counters down?"

"On it," Adrien said. "What about you, Luka?"

Luka noticed that there was other messes around the apartment that Marinette let fall to the wayside. He saw that there were stray clothes such as aprons everywhere.

"I'll gather up the laundry," Luka said, walking over to the sofa. Luka also saw that there were spare dishes on the coffee table that were a bit dirty. "And the dishes..."

The two men took it upon themselves to clean up the apartment while Marinette was sick. Luka collected the dishes and put them in the sink, meanwhile Adrien was wiping down the counters with ease.

"So far, so good," Adrien said, dusting his hands off when he threw out the used wipes. "Hey Luka, can you get the dishes?"

"I'm working on sorting the laundry." Luka replied as he got the laundry basket out. He was taking out the whites that Marinette had and putting them in one basket while keeping the colors and darks in another one.

"Hey, I've never done laundry before," Adrien said. "Why don't I give it a try?"

"You sure?" Luka asked, a bit skeptical.

"Sure am." Adrien said with a smile.

Luka was not sure about this. Adrien had tried his best to learn how to do housework from Marinette back when they were an item, but apparently, he could only wipe up countertops without any trouble. As for everything else, Luka had a sneaking suspicion that it was going to be easier said than done. But how else would Adrien learn and get better if he did not get a chance to try it out?

"Okay, then," Luka said, handing the basket over to Adrien. "But don't hesitate to tell me if you're having any trouble."

"Thanks, I will." Adrien said, taking the basket and running over to the washing machine.

"He's enthusiastic about this," Luka chuckled as he made his way over to the sink. "Now to get these dishes cleaner than a whistle."

Luka took the dish soap and put a tiny droplet of it into a sponge. He squeezed the sponge a few times, getting a good lather, and started washing the plates that were in the sink.

A few minutes later, Adrien came back into the kitchen and said, "Washer's running."

"That's great. So, the first round is in, huh?" Luka stated, pleased.

"First round?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah, did you put the whites in first?" Luka asked back, quirking a brow.

"I put all the clothes in the wash." Adrien stated, rubbing his head.

Luka paused before turning to Adrien and asking, "Both the lights and the darks are in there?"

Adrien gave a nod and then said, "Yeah. Thought it would go faster if I did that."

"Well, maybe, but..." Luka began, about to explain that it was possible that Adrien overfilled the machine and what the consequences were. But then he heard some odd sounds coming from the washer.

"Um... Does that sound bad to you?" Adrien asked, sweat dropping.

Luka dropped the dishes and dashed over to the washing machine. He saw that the thing was rocking around and that the door was slightly ajar. Bubbles from the detergent were spilling out of the washing machine, too. One big bubble was formed and it popped, causing a loud noise.

"Adrien, how much of the detergent did you put in there?!" Luka asked, in a panic.

The machine was spluttering and more soap suds were bursting out.

"The entire container, why? The laundry was saturated in stains and dirt." Adrien sheepishly admitted.

"Only one or two detergent pods would have done the trick!" Luka shouted, freaked out. He immediately ran to the machine and hit the off button.

The bubbles stopped forming and the machine went quiet. Luka sighed in relief before taking the clothes out of the machine and into the laundry basket to assess the damage.

The good news? Adrien did not overstuff the machine, so the large appliance was intact, saving Marinette an expense.

The bad news? The clothes were soaked, filthy, and since Adrien made the mistake of putting both whites and darks in the washing machine at once, the dyes from the darker clothes leaked onto the whites and turned them a disgusting, muddy color! Not only that, but soap suds were all over the floor.

"Look at these!" Luka complained, distressed. "We can't show these to Marinette!"

"Throw the whites back in the wash, maybe?" Adrien suggested. "A few cycles could get the dye out."

"Good thinking," Luka agreed, throwing all of the "whites" into the wash. "I just..."

"What's going on out here?" A hoarse, feminine voice said.

Adrien and Luka looked over and saw that Marinette was in her bathrobe and had come out to see what all the commotion was about. Tikki was on her shoulder.

"Oh, Angel!" Luka said, flustered; Adrien hid the remaining clothes. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I heard the washing machine making strange sounds and decided to take a look," Marinette murmured. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine! Peachy-keen!" Adrien stammered out. "Sure your cold isn't messing with your ears?"

"That might be it," Marinette muttered. Tikki squawked a little before flapping her wings. "Oh, that reminds me... Tikki's running low on her food."

"What kind does she eat?" Luka asked.

"Here's the package," Marinette said, giving the almost-empty package to Luka. "Think you can get more?"

"I'll see what I can do," Luka said, taking a picture of the food package before putting his phone away. "Speaking of food, you hungry?"

"Not re..." Marinette began, but then there was a low growling sound: her stomach. Marinette blushed. "On second thought, I _am_ a bit hungry..."

"Okay, then," Adrien said, stepping up. "I still remember some things from the baking lessons you gave me, so let Luka and I take care of the food for you."

Luka gave Adrien an incredulous look of surprise. If Adrien could hardly do the laundry, then he could only imagine how badly he could mess up cooking.

"Are you sure?" Marinette asked. Apparently she read Luka's mind.

"Positive," Luka said, turning Marinette around and gently pushing her back into her room. "You can just relax and get some sleep. I'll get Tikki's feed and the two of us will cook up a nice meal for you."

"Alright then, if you're sure..." Marinette said. She yawned and went back into her bed.

Once Luka left the bedroom and shut the door, he sighed and turned to Adrien. He muttered, "Okay. I'll go and get Tikki's food. Can I trust you to keep the kitchen intact in the meantime?"

"I'll do my best." Adrien admitted, saluting to Luka.

"Okay," Luka sighed, before going over to the fridge. He opened it and saw that there was a whole chicken in its packaging and sitting in a leakproof container, a few random vegetables such as potatoes and carrots, and so many more odds and ends he could use up to feed Marinette. "Think you can whip something up with any of this?"

"I'll see what I can do," Adrien said, a bit nervous. "Are you sure _I_ shouldn't be the one to go and get Tikki's bird seed? I'm better at shopping than I am at cooking"

Luka could tell Adrien was apprehensive about cooking. But once again, how was Adrien going to learn if he did not try it for himself.

"Think of this as a chance to get your feet wet in the kitchen," Luka said. "And as a warning: wash your hands when you're done with the chicken. Food-borne illnesses are _not funny_."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Adrien said, and then the two men laughed.

"And maybe I'll stop by the grocery store and get some supplies while I'm at it," Luka said, taking up some reusable shopping bags. "See you later, Adrien. And _please_ don't burn down the apartment while I'm gone. If you're having trouble, text me and let me know."

Adrien gave Luka a thumb's up and then the guitar player left the apartment to go and get Tikki's food.

"Okay, let's get down to business!" Adrien said, cracking his knuckles and then he got to work.

He saw that there were still dishes in the sink and knew that he would have to clean those first before he did anything. He may have been out of practice with washing dishes, but he could only get back in practice if he did it.

So, Adrien took up the sponge and started washing the dishes with full vigor and enthusiasm.

Adrien was having little to no trouble with the dishes. He washed each plate with ease. Anything he had trouble with, he put in the dishwasher in the configuration that Marinette taught him.

"OW!" Adrien shouted, yanking his hand out of the sink.

He looked in and saw that someone was negligent and put a knife in the sink. Having grown up in a bakery, Marinette was not likely to have done it. It was Kitchen Safety 101: _never_ put a knife in the sink. _Always_ wash it and put it away.

Adrien looked at his hand and saw his finger was cut. There was blood trickling down his hand, and it was fairly painful.

Remembering the first aid tricks Marinette taught him, Adrien put a bandage on his finger and then put a glove on his hand. He held his hand above his head for a few minutes to keep it elevated. In the meantime, he looked around the pantry to see what other seasonings and adornments he could use to cook the meal.

He found some dried traditional herbs such as tarragon and savory, and a container of black peppercorns. He also saw the spice grinder, too.

"Bingo!" Adrien said, taking out the spice grinder and plugging it in.

He opened it up and put in the peppercorns. He put the lid on the grinder and turned it on. A few seconds later, he turned the grinder off and saw a fine powder of freshly-ground black peppercorns.

Adrien combined the peppercorns with the dried herbs he found and some salt, creating a dry rub for the chicken.

"Okay, now for the real obstacle: the chicken," Adrien muttered, as he saw the whole, raw chicken sitting on a cutting board on the counter. He placed the vegetables on another cutting board on another countertop. "Here goes nothing..."

He took out his phone and watched a tutorial video on how to spatchcock a chicken. With _some_ difficulty (including another round of cutting himself and having to apply first aid), Adrien managed to do it successfully, and now the bird was sitting flat on the cutting board, waiting for flavors.

"So, now to get this chicken seasoned..." Adrien muttered, trying to figure out how to get the seasoning on the chicken without hurting himself again. He then remembered that he could just sprinkle the seasoning blend on both sides of the chicken and then let it sit for a few minutes before putting it in the oven.

Speaking of the oven, he had turned it up to the maximum temperature of 287.78C.

Adrien took the bowl of seasoning and then sprinkled the first side of the chicken, and then he used his hands - wearing single-use gloves - to rub the seasonings into all the crevices of the bird. He repeated this on the other side of the bird. He took the gloves off before taking a sheet pan and lining it with aluminum foil. He then oiled it down before putting the chicken on.

"Okay, now for the carrots..." Adrien began, but then saw the mess he made. "...AFTER I get this cleaned up."

He wiped the counter down with the cleaning wipes, he put the cutting board in the dishwasher before turning on the sanitize setting. He was not taking any chances. And he washed the knife before putting it away.

He took out another clean knife and started making bias cuts on the carrots and the asparagus that he had found.

"AHA!" Adrien said, seeing some more spices he could use. He took out the cayenne and generously shook it all over the vegetables.

After he scattered the vegetation on the sheet pan with the chicken, he put it in the oven and stretched his arms, satisfied with his work.

"Now to give it fifteen minutes and then I'll check on it." Adrien said and then he took out the blender.

He decided to try his hand at making a vegetable soup using the blender instead of a pot. He felt it would make quicker work of the soup instead of using a pot.

He placed some hot cream, some seasonings, and cauliflower into the blender, and then he went to Marinette's room to get Tikki... But he forgot to put the lid on the blender.

About ten minutes later, Luka walked back into the apartment, carrying a bag of Tikki's bird feed and a few reusable shopping bags filled with food and other supplies, such as cold medicine.

"I'm back!" Luka called in.

"Great timing, Luka," Adrien said. He was sitting on the couch with Tikki on his head. "The chicken and the vegetables are in the oven, and I thought I'd use the blender to make soup for Marinette."

"And so far nothing's gone wrong," Luka said, breathing a sigh of relief before lifting up the grocery bags. "Think you can help me get all this stuff put away?"

"Sure thing." Adrien said, getting up from the couch.

The pair started getting the food out of the bags. They were just minding their own business, making sure that that everything was put in their proper place. But the calm was about to be interrupted.

Tikki started squawking, almost as if she were scared. And Luka grew an uncomfortable expression when he sniffed something in the air and asked, "Hey, Adrien? Is it just me, or is something burning?"

"Burning? _MERDE!_ " Adrien shouted, realizing he had left the chicken in the oven. He panicked, ran to the oven, took the hot pads, and extracted what _should_ have been a perfectly-cooked meal out of the oven.

Luka covered his face with a towel to filter out the air and breathe. The stench of smoke and the burning cayenne smell was making it hard to breathe. He turned off the oven, cracked open the windows around the apartment, and turned on the vent fans.

Luka and Adrien examined the disastrous results of the latter's attempt at cooking. The chicken was nearly charred, but there were still some salvageable pieces, and the carrots and asparagus were black.

"Ugh..." Adrien moaned, relieved that there was no fire, but upset that he burned what should have been a good meal. His mouth was getting irritated at the cayenne sensation and his eyes were tearing up from the heat. He followed Luka's lead and covered his mouth with a cloth.

"It wasn't a _complete_ disaster..." Luka said, trying to reassure Adrien. Tikki was still flying around the room, scared of the smell.

"What's going on?" Marinette asked, coming out of her room again. "What's burning in here?"

"Oh, um, nothing!" Adrien shouted, trying to hide the chicken. "We're still in the middle of things!"

"But it smells like something's on fire." Marinette said, waving her hand in front of her face.

"But aren't you pretty congested?" Luka asked.

"A little, but it's smoky enough for me to smell it. And it smells like someone overdid it on chili peppers in here, too." Marinette muttered.

"Back to bed with you, Angel," Luka teased, gently pushing Marinette back to her room. "Everything's under control here."

Marinette was skeptical with Luka's brusque change of the subject, and then he told her, "We'll be along with food and medicine soon."

"Okay..." Marinette said, suspicious of her boyfriend and ex-boyfriend's behavior.

Luka shut the door and doubled back into the kitchen. He saw that Adrien was about to turn on the blender _with the lid off_ and then Luka shouted, "Hold it! Don't...!"

Too late. Adrien turned the blender on, and the liquid contents were splattered everywhere. Luka hit the deck while Adrien pulled the plug. Once the appliance stopped, they looked around and saw that the walls were covered in the white liquid and some of the countertops had the hot stuff on it, too.

"Oh, great..." Adrien complained. "Now what?"

They stood up and looked around at what the results of the blender disaster were.

"We'd better clean up... Again." Luka said, shrugging and going to the cabinet to get the cleaning supplies.

After what seemed like an hour of cleaning, Luka and Adrien regrouped and tried to think of a game plan.

"There are parts of the chicken that we can use for something else. I think you were on the right track with soup. I have an idea," Luka said, realizing something. "I'll check the pantry. Think you can use some forks and shred the chicken?"

"I think I can manage that much at least." Adrien said, taking out a few forks.

Luka opened up the pantry and found a carton of chicken stock and a box of whole wheat mini shell pasta. He smiled and took the two ingredients out.

"Bingo!" Luka said, coming into the kitchen. He also saw that Adrien had shredded up the good parts of the chicken. "Nice work, Adrien."

"Here's a pot," Adrien said, taking a pot out of one of Marinette's cabinets. "Judging by the stock carton, you're planning on using what chicken wasn't burned to make a soup?"

"You got it," Luka said, going over to the stove. Marinette got lucky when she found the apartment had induction cooktops. "With some whole wheat pasta for extra health benefits."

"Thanks. Um... Mind if you take this one? I can just watch." Adrien asked.

"Read my mind." Luka chuckled.

Since Adrien did not use up all the carrots, Luka took one each carrot, onion, and a stalk of celery and diced them up before sautéing them in the pot. Once that was done and the vegetables were tender with a nice amount of color, Luka found some more vegetables that were already pre-cut: mushrooms and some sliced green onions. After placing the produce in, Luka poured the stock into the pot, and let the liquid heat through a bit before adding the chicken and the pasta.

Within a few minutes and some extra seasonings, Luka had a tray with a bowl of the soup, a dose of cold medicine, and a spoon and a few napkins.

"This should do it," Luka said, Tikki landing on his shoulder. "I'll bring it in."

Adrien nodded and just waited in the common area.

Marinette was sitting in her bed, wondering what Luka and Adrien were up to. Every time she checked in on them, it was like they were trying to hide something from her. And when she came in earlier because she smelled something burning, they _insisted_ everything was fine.

 _'Why am I not surprised? Every time Adrien tried cooking,_ something _would go wrong. Hopefully with Luka helping out, it won't be as disastrous.'_ Marinette thought, feeling herself beginning to laugh.

There was a knock on her door and she said, "Come in."

Luka opened the door, carrying the tray in both of his hands. He gave Marinette a sheepish smile and a shrug. Marinette sat up and gave Luka a smile.

He sat down on the bed, and placed the tray in front of her, before saying, "Chicken and vegetable soup with shell pasta."

"It looks great," Marinette said, as she took up the spoon. "Well, _bon_ _appétit!_ "

"Hold it," Luka said, taking the spoon away from Marinette. "Let me feed you."

"A-Are you sure?" Marinette asked, blushing a bit. Sure, her face was still a bed red from the fever, but otherwise the extra blush was still noticeable.

"Of course." Luka chuckled.

He spooned out some of the soup with some of the goodies in it, and gently blew on it. It was still a bit hot. He held the spoon out and Marinette, still red in the face from embarrassment, opened her mouth. Luka fed her the soup and Marinette chewed a bit and swallowed.

"This is... pretty good," Marinette admitted. "It really warms me up."

"That's great," Luka said. "And once we're done, take the medication."

Marinette smiled as Luka kept spooning the liquid into her mouth and feeding her.

A few minutes later, the bowl was empty and the medicine had gone down the hatch. And now the room was filled with nothing but pure silence. Marinette decided she needed to break the awkward atmosphere and say something.

"Thank you so much for today, Luka." Marinette said.

"No problem, Angel," Luka said, rubbing Marinette's head with his hand. "You must have overworked yourself."

"Now that I think about it, you're right, I did," Marinette confirmed. "I wasn't paying attention to my own health, too focused on trying to help you."

"Well, now you know for next time," Luka said with a shrug. "You were there to help me when I needed it, so helping you out when you're sick is the least I can do."

Luka and Marinette gazed at each other with affection. They started leaning in closer to one another. Their facial expressions softened, and they began to pucker their lips.

However, Tikki squawked, interrupting the moment. Marinette looked at her little conure in annoyance before the bird fluttered onto her shoulder.

And to make matters more disappointing, Luka put a finger on Marinette's lips and said, "I think Tikki's right: no kissing, not now."

"What?" Marinette whined, disappointed.

"Your ex is in the next room," Luka said, jerking his head to the door. "And you're still sick. I can't kiss you like this."

"Oh..." Marinette deflated, a little upset. "I see."

"I know it sucks, babe, but I don't want your cold." Luka chuckled back.

"I don't want you to catch it, either," Marinette said, resigned. "But still..."

Tikki kept on squawking and the lovers laughed a little at the conure's outburst.

Luka's phone chime went off and then he looked at it at. He turned to Marinette and said, "Juleka's calling. She needs to talk to me about the wedding."

"Go on," Marinette said. "You've been here with me all day."

"Thanks for understanding," Luka said, before stroking Marinette's head. "I'll see you later. I'll make sure the soup stays warm in case you want more. Get well soon."

Luka left the bedroom and gently shut the door.

"Is she doing better?" Adrien asked as Luka came into the common area.

"She's doing a lot better," Luka said. "But I have to get going."

"Yeah, me too," Adrien said, looking at his watch. "But before I go... I need you to promise me something."

"What is it?" Luka asked.

"Make Marinette happy," Adrien said. "I always hoped that I would be the one to do that... But that's your duty, now."

"Don't worry, Adrien," Luka said with a smile, as he and Adrien shook hands. "I promise. And I heard from Nino that you're great on piano. You can join me and the guys for a jam session any time."

"That's great," Adrien beamed, happy to hear that he and Luka were now friends. "I gotta go. See you later."

Luka and Adrien left the apartment to let Marinette recuperate, and they went their separate ways for the moment.

But as Luka left the building, he heard a loud sneeze from Marinette's apartment, and he shouted up, "Gesundheit!"

"Thank you!" Marinette shouted back.

Luka chuckled before leaving to go and talk to Juleka.

* * *

 ***Cracking up and laughing like crazy* Wasn't that funny? I wanted to lighten the mood after making an emotional rollercoaster out of the last chapter. I'm hoping that I got a laugh out of at least one person.**

 **But I also hope I can come up with some new inspiration for the future chapters of this story (I DO know how the story is going to end, though). With Luka making another appearance in the show, hopefully I can think of** **something else. And if anyone has any ideas, don't be scared to pitch in a review or PM. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed, but Luka and Marinette have yet to kiss in this story. I guarantee that it will happen, but we can justify it in this chapter.**

 **Worst case scenario, I wait until "Frozer" airs to see what else I can do if I see more sides to Luka, and I can write one-shots for the love square in the meantime.**


	9. Love's Conclusion

**Alright now! Sorry this took so long, but now's the final chapter for "Brother of the Bride!" It's probably going to be a shorter one, though. I only put Adrien in the previous few chapters just to give Marinette some closure and help her move on with Luka. And now that Frozer's out, I can finally wrap this story up and move on with my other ones!**

 **Speaking of my other stories, I hope you guys are enjoying my latest Lukanette piece, "Eerie Romance," which I started to celebrate Halloween!**

 **And I know I established that Rose and Juleka aren't getting married to each other back in chapter 1, but screw it, I'm going to make Juleka and Rose an item today! I just went and made the necessary changes in the first chapter. And Rose is getting her dress from somewhere else so as to not overwhelm Marinette.**

 **Finally, a few songs are going to be put in here, either in their entirety or in pieces. This can easily lengthen the chapter, so here's the list:**

 **Footloose - Kenny Loggins  
Dead Girl Walking - Heathers the Musical  
The Frog Prince - Enya**

 **And now…** _ **La finale!**_

* * *

After Marinette had fully recovered from her cold, everything else was smooth sailing for her and Luka. The fundraiser had been a success and they raised enough money to repair the boat _and_ replace the instruments and equipment for the wedding. Not only that, but they had money leftover they could use for emergencies in the future.

So, as his way of saying thanks, Luka brought Marinette out to a karaoke bar for a date. He felt that she needed a break after everything.

Marinette was sitting on a sofa in the audience while Luka was on stage, playing his guitar and singing to "Footloose."

 _"You can fly if you'd only cut loose! Footloose! Kick off the Sunday shoes!"_ Luka sang as he spun on his heel and strummed his guitar.

Marinette's hands were clasped together and her eyes were alight, in awe of her boyfriend.

 _"Oh-wee Marie, shake it, shake it for me! Whoa, Milo. Come on, come on let's go. Lose your blues..."_

Luka slid on his knees to the edge of the stage before belting out in song, _"Everybody cut footloose!"_

Luka stood back up and continued to play his guitar while dancing on the stage. Marinette kept her eyes glued to him and she was delighted that he was having such a good time.

Luka once again put his guitar back on his back and he held his hand out to Marinette. She took it and he pulled her up on the stage.

The two of them started dancing together to the tempo of the music, with underarm turns, lifts, spins, etc. It was a lot of fun for the two of them.

 _"We got to turn you around and put your feet on the ground!"_ Luka sang as he put Marinette down once more. He spun her around, let her travel out, and pulled her back in. _"Now take a hold of your soul!"_

 _"I'm turning it loose!"_ Luka sang as he once again spun Marinette around like a top. She laughed in delight.

As the pair danced, Luka kept singing, _"Footloose! Kick off the Sunday shoes! Please Louise! Pull me off my knees! Jack, get back! Come on, before we crack! Lose your blues! Everybody cut footloose!"_

Marinette was smiling, laughing, and spinning around in delight as she danced with Luka like she had not a care in the world. And it was true to an extent.

Luka had made her so happy over the past few months of their relationship. Sure, they had their ups and downs, but they always worked through it.

 _"Everybody cut footloose!"_ Luka sang, ending the song for their turn.

Everyone in the audience started applauding the pair as Luka and Marinette returned to their seats.

"That was amazing, Luka!" Marinette said with a smile as Luka hugged her by the shoulders and then kissed her cheek.

"Thanks, babe," Luka said. "And you've got skills on your feet. I didn't know you could dance like that."

"I'm so clumsy, I didn't think I _could_ dance until tonight," Marinette chuckled. "But I can't wait to get back up there. I signed up for a song for the two of us for later on."

"Really?" Luka asked, quirking an inquisitive eyebrow. "Which one?"

Marinette giggled and whispered the name of the song into Luka's ear.

"Are you sure?" Luka asked. "That song's not really for the faint of heart."

"Well, considering what I've been through, I think we can handle it," Marinette said. "And your guitar is perfect for it, too."

Luka smiled at this comment and said, "Okay."

The pair of lovers sat on the couch as other singers came and went on the stage. Some of them tried to copy Jagged Stone and sing his songs, but they only came so close to succeeding.

Soon enough, Marinette and Luka got their turn again and they were up on stage. Luka was playing his guitar in the background while Marinette was singing.

 _"I need it hard! I'm a dead girl walking! I'm in your yard, I'm a dead girl walking!"_ Marinette sang, dancing along to the music.

Luka smiled as he watched Marinette sing and move in time with the music. He knew his guitar was going to come in handy later on in the song.

 _"Before they punch my clock, I'm snappin' off your window lock! Got no time to knock, I'm a dead girl walking!"_ Marinette sang, before pointing over to Luka. It was his turn to join in on the singing.

 _"Veronica! What are you doing in my room?"_ Luka asked, playing the part of JD.

 _"Shh..."_ Marinette sang as she gave him a sultry expression and placed a finger on his lips, as if to gently quiet him down. _"Sorry, but I really had to wake you. See, I decided I must ride you 'till I break you!"_

Luka returned the flirtatious look and blushed, prompting Marinette to continue her song.

 _"'Cause Heather says I gots to go. You're my last meal on death row,"_ Marinette sang, maintaining eye contact with Luka. _"Shut your mouth and lose them tighty-whities!"_

Luka chuckled as his heart throbbed.

 _"Come on! Tonight I'm yours, I'm your dead girl walking,"_ Marinette crooned as she moved her hand to walk her fingers up his chest before grabbing his chin in her hands. _"Get on all fours, kiss this dead girl walking."_

Luka blushed, happy with her performance.

 _"Let's go, you know the drill. I'm hot and pissed and on the pill! Bow down to the will of a dead girl walking!"_ Marinette sang.

As the tone of the song got softer and sweeter, she turned to Luka and a blush formed on her face as she serenaded her boyfriend, continuing her turn.

 _"And you know, you know, you know, it's cause you're beautiful. You say you're numb inside, but I can't agree,"_ Marinette sang, keeping her blue eyes locked to Luka's teal ones. _"So the world's unfair. Keep it locked out there! In here it's beautiful. Let's make this beautiful!"_

 _"That works for me - whoop!"_ Luka began, and he started playing the guitar lead. No wonder Marinette said that Luka's guitar playing would be perfect for the song, and she was right.

The young man played his guitar as if he knew the song by heart, and he was having an easy time doing it.

 _"Yeah! Full steam ahead, take this dead girl walking!"_ Marinette sang, and then Luka sang, _"How'd you find my address?"_

 _"Let's break the bed, rock this dead girl walking!"_ Marinette crooned, and Luka sang, _"I think you tore my mattress!"_

 _"No sleep tonight for you, better chug that Mountain Dew!"_ Marinette crooned while looking at Luka, who sang, _"Okay, okay."_

 _"Get your ass in gear, make this whole town disappear!"_ Marinette belted out in song, going wild, with Luka singing, _"Okay, okay!"_

 _"Slap me, pull my hair, touch me there and there and there!"_ Marinette sang, with Luka helping her finish up the last lines of the song. _"And no more talking!"_

 _"Whoa-oh-oh-oh!"_ Luka crooned out, rocking on his guitar.

 _"Love this dead girl walking!"_ Marinette sang.

The pair of lovers continued to finish the song together, and once they were done, they got a standing ovation from the audience.

The couple got off the stage and sat back down.

"Wow, that's some voice you've got, Marinette," Luka commented. "You did a great job."

"Yeah, we got one of the top scores!" Marinette sang. "The crowd loved it, too."

"I think there are still people clapping for us," Luka said, gesturing over to a few other audience members who were looking at them and clapping. "Geez, all this singing's made me hungry."

"Hey, I hear the food here is amazing," Marinette said, as she looked at the menu. "How about crepes, like on our first date?"

"Sounds good!" Luka said as he looked at the menu. "What looks good to you? I think these crepes with the herbs in the batter that are being filled with scrambled eggs, cheese, and ham sound good."

"These crepes that are filled with bacon and spinach with the Hollandaise sauce look great, too." Marinette said.

"So let's order!" Luka said with a smile as their waiter came in and they placed their orders for their food.

Once the crepes got there, the lovebirds started to chow down.

"Yum! The creaminess of the Hollandaise contrasts well with the crispy bacon and the wilted spinach. The textures are playing together like three-part harmony." Marinette said with a laugh.

"The herbs in mine give a nice speckled effect _and_ an earthy aroma to it. Not just that, but the crispness of the crepe really balances out the creaminess of the cheese and eggs while the ham's saltiness gives it just the right note of flavor." Luka commented as he took a bite into his once more.

"This is great!" Marinette said as the pair continued to eat their dinner.

After they finished eating, they listened to other people sing a few more songs together. The songs' moods ranged from silly - rendering Luka and Marinette blue in the face from laughter - to spooky - prompting Marinette to cling to her boyfriend's arm - to romantic - which helped the mood between the lovers. They were enjoying every moment of their date.

* * *

As Luka started walking Marinette home, the two of them could not stop laughing and smiling at all the fun that they had.

"I didn't think you knew about "Heathers," Marinette," Luka said. "Alya and the others always said you were the innocent type."

"Innocent, my foot," Marinette giggled. "When I hit about eighteen, I decided to break out of my shell a little bit and I watched the musical on Youtube. I'm surprised I wasn't mentally scarred from it. That show was intense."

"Yeah, I know," Luka said. "But the music's great."

"It sure is." Marinette said.

The pair kept walking along, laughing and talking with each other. Even when they made it to Marinette's apartment, they were still

"You really know your way with music, Luka." Marinette said.

"Same to you," Luka replied. "So... I wanted to ask you..."

"Yes?" Marinette asked, wondering what Luka wanted.

"Well, the wedding is coming up, and even though the band's instruments and equipment are fixed, we still have one problem." Luka said.

"A problem?" Marinette asked.

"Well, Nino's bringing Alya as _his_ plus one, meanwhile the others aren't bringing dates... So that leaves me, and I don't _have_ a date." Luka said, turning to Marinette and giving her a smile.

Marinette's lips turned up into a smile as well when she realized exactly what Luka was implying.

"Luka, are you asking me...?" Marinette asked.

"Yes, will you be my date to the wedding?" Luka asked.

"Of course I will!" Marinette said as she launched herself on to Luka and cuddled him. Luka held Marinette close and he gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"That's great. Hey, this really isn't my thing, but wanna go shopping for a dress for the wedding tomorrow?" Luka asked.

"Oh, I'd love to!" Marinette answered, delighted that her boyfriend would go out of his way to help her look nice for the wedding.

"Great! Pick you up at nine?" Luka asked.

"That would be awesome!" Marinette said.

"Perfect! See you tomorrow, babe." Luka said as he winked at Marinette and then left her swooning at her doorstep.

Once he was gone, Marinette immediately took her phone out and texted Alya the goods news. Needless to say, Alya immediately rang her best friend up and the two of them started gossiping, squealing, and talking about her date with Luka the next day.

"Don't make him carry your bags, girl," Alya said over the phone. "It's bad form."

"Don't worry, I won't," Marinette said as she walked into her apartment and started a load of laundry. "Just so long as _you_ don't take up too much of Nino's time during the wedding. He's the DJ, remember?"

"Girl, you know I wouldn't do that. All you need to do is show up in something nice and make it so Luka will drool!" Alya said.

"I'll be sure to pick out something perfect for the wedding! We can get our hair and makeup done together, too!" Marinette said once she started the laundry. She walked into her bedroom and gave Tikki some of her bird seed.

"Great idea, Marinette!" Alya said. "That would be perfect! Let's plan on it."

"Okay!" Marinette said with a grin on her face. "I gotta get ready for tomorrow. See you later."

Marinette hung up the phone and opened her closet. She looked at the dresses she had and she felt that none of them would be satisfactory for the wedding. She was looking forward to shopping with her boyfriend, and she had every intention of making it a good experience for both parties.

Once Luka got back to the fully-repaired boat, he sighed in delight as a smile graced his face. He took out a long, rectangular jewelry box. He was excited for the next day because he wanted to make sure the dress they got was going to match with what he made for her.

"Luka." Juleka said as she came out from below the deck.

"Hey sis," Luka said with a smile. "How are you this evening?"

"I'm doing fine," Juleka said with a shrug. "Judging by your smile, did you have fun tonight?"

"I sure did," Luka said while breathing out a chuckle. "But I honestly wasn't expecting Marinette to be familiar with "Heathers," especially "Dead Girl Walking.""

"Marinette? Knowing about "Heathers: The Musical?" That's unexpected." Juleka commented.

"I know," Luka said. "Anyway, I'll be seeing her again tomorrow. We're going shopping."

"Shopping? You?" Juleka questioned.

"Yep, for a dress for the wedding," Luka elaborated. "I wanted to make sure she was wearing the right one."

Luka held up the jewelry box again and Juleka nodded, knowing what her brother had in mind.

"Good luck." Juleka said with a smile, knowing her brother would do a great job being there for Marinette.

* * *

The next day, Luka and Marinette were looking around at a small dress boutique. It was a place Marinette would frequent for inspiration rather than shopping, but today was a special occasion.

"Welcome! It's nice to see you again, Marinette. It's been a while." The shopkeeper said as she greeted the blue-haired woman.

"Nice to see you again, too." Marinette replied.

The shopkeeper noticed Luka and she asked, "And who might this strapping young beau be?"

"Oh, this is Luka Couffaine, my boyfriend." Marinette said with a smile.

"Really?" The shopkeeper said with a smile and she decided not to ask any questions about what happened between Marinette and Adrien.

"Yeah, my sister's wedding is coming up and Marinette is not only responsible for the wedding dress, but she's my date for the wedding. So, we're here to get a dress for her."

"Well, I know just what suits Marinette the best. Follow me." The shopkeeper said as she guided Marinette and Luka to a section of dresses in the boutique.

"Wow, this is a nice selection." Luka said.

"I love all these dresses," Marinette said, looking at the huge variety. "I don't know which one to pick."

"I can't see any of these dresses making you look good, Marinette." Luka chuckled.

"Hey!" Marinette said, angry at the insinuation. "What is that supposed to mean?!"

"What can I say? You can't improve on perfection." Luka said, winking at Marinette.

Realizing that Luka meant it as a compliment, she blushed, completely flattered.

"I see the two of you are pretty close," The shopkeeper said with a giggle. "Shall we get to work and pick a dress?"

Luka and Marinette nodded as they started to browse the racks for a dress for Marinette. They had to be mindful of Marinette's personal budget, too.

Luka looked around at the some of the dresses, and he saw a few that caught his eye. He said, "Over here, Marinette."

Marinette looked over and saw the two that Luka had held up for her.

"Oh, those look good," Marinette said as she took the two hangers. "Let me go try them on and see what works."

Luka watched his girlfriend walk into the dressing rooms, and he waited. He began strumming his guitar to pass the time, patiently waiting for Marinette to come out in a new dress that he hoped would suit her. After all, he wanted to add an embellishment of his own.

Marinette came out of the dressing room in a red, floor-length sheath gown with a grecian neckline and an open back. Not only that, but there was a very long slit up her left leg and there was a black rose pin right in the middle of the neckline. The hem of the dress had black sequins sewed into it.

Luka looked up and his eyes widened at how beautiful Marinette looked in the dress.

"You look amazing!" Luka said as Marinette stepped out of the booth and looked to the mirror.

"I admit that it looks nice, but... I think it shows a bit too much," Marinette said as she examined the open back and how much leg was being shown. "Can't steal the spotlight from Juleka and Rose, so I think this one's out."

Luka looked it over and he said, "Yeah, good point. And having other guys making eyes at you doesn't sit right with me. I wouldn't blame them for staring, though. Even without that dress, you're pretty attractive."

Marinette smiled and blushed while giving a nod. She went back into the changing room to try on the next dress.

A few minutes later, Marinette re-exited the dressing room and this time she was wearing a much thicker dress. It was red, and it had large, black, poofy sleeves and they went all the way down to her wrist. The dress itself was a ball gown a sweetheart neckline and it had a large hoop skirt. And there were tiers of black fabric in the skirt, too.

As she stumbled out, she wound up tripping on her own two feet and started hurtling to the ground.

"I gotcha!" Luka said as he caught Marinette.

"Thanks, Luka," Marinette said as she stood back up. "This dress is overkill."

"Yep," Luka agreed. "Gonna try again?"

"Yes," Marinette said as she dusted herself off. "There's more where that came from in this place."

Marinette reentered the changing room, and once again Luka was waiting and playing his guitar to pass the time. He hoped that the next dress would hit the ball right out of the park, and wanted to make sure Marinette liked it, too.

"Third time lucky I hope!" Marinette said as she stepped out of the dressing room.

Luka looked up and his jaw dropped. Marinette was wearing a red Queen Anne neckline cocktail dress that went down to just above her knees. The skirt had some black sheer lace fabric over the red, there were flowers in the lace pattern, and it had a transparent effect on the dress. The waistband was silk and it looked bunched up just enough to make it look good. There was a silk rose pin on the band, too. The hem had black vines and leaves sewn into it.

Luka was speechless. Marinette had never looked so beautiful.

"Well?" Marinette gently asked, turning around and showing Luka the dress from every angle.

"Babe, that's the best one yet!" Luka said, clapping in approval. "It's perfect!"

"Okay, then!" Marinette said. "Let's buy it!"

"You're in luck. That dress is actually on clearance." The shopkeeper said.

"We'll take it." Luka said with a smile.

Within a few minutes, they left the boutique and had a shopping bag in hand that contained the dress. Luka took the bill because he knew Marinette was on a budget, and he was hoping that she would wear the dress more than just the one time on future dates.

"I think we hit the jackpot with this dress," Marinette said, holding up the bag. "I'm excited for the wedding!"

"Me too," Luka said. "It's going to be a great day, seeing Rose and Juleka exchange their vows."

Marinette nodded in agreement and she giggled.

Luka looked back to one of his pants pockets and he grew a playful smile. He had something planned and he hoped that it would go well during the big day.

* * *

Finally, the day of the wedding came. The entire ceremony was being held at Notre-Dame de Paris.

The wedding party was sitting in the pews. Rose's family was on one side of the aisle while Luka and Anarka were on the other side. Marinette was sitting next to Luka in the dress that they chose together. Luka was wearing a black tux with teal trim and handkerchief to match his eyes.

Up at the altar, the preacher was proceeding with the ceremony. While Juleka was wearing the bridal gown that she got from Marinette, Rose was all decked out in a large, pink princess down, with a sweetheart neckline and large leg-o-mutton sleeves that went down to her elbows.

"Isn't this a beautiful wedding?" Marinette whispered to Luka. Her eyes were crying happy tears, but she never made a peep about it.

"It sure is. I don't think I've ever seen Juleka so happy." Luka whispered back.

"...By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you Mrs. and Mrs. Juleka and Rose Couffaine-Lavillant!" The preacher said. "You may kiss the brides."

Juleka and Rose shared a tight embrace and a sweet kiss with each other. Everyone in the crowd stood up and started whooping, cheering, and clapping for the newlyweds.

The two brides rain down the aisle, hand-in-hand, and everyone was applauding for them. Once they left the cathedral, they climbed into a small car so they could ride off to their reception area.

The crowd watched as Rose and Juleka started driving off, still applauding for the happy brides.

"Shall we get going?" Luka asked, holding Marinette's hand while holding up his motorcycle keys in his other hand. "We can get there on my bike."

"Great idea! I haven't been on a motorcycle in a while!" Marinette said with a big smile. She was no stranger to riding motorcycles since her paternal grandmother, Gina Dupain, was a biker, too.

"Then let's go!" Luka said as he led Marinette over to the dual-sport bike.

The exterior body of the bike was black with a Caribbean blue lightning bolt. He put on his helmet and gear, tossed the spare helmet over to Marinette, and then they both got on the bike.

"Hang on tight, babe!" Luka said as he began to rev up his engine. Marinette wrapped her arms around his torso.

Luka put his foot to the pedal and then they took off to start riding over to the Paradis Latin, the chosen venue for the wedding reception.

As they flew down the streets on Luka's bike, Marinette was enjoying the sensation of the wind in her hair and the texture of the leather under her hands. Feeling a little bolder, Marinette laid her head against Luka's back as he kept riding.

Once they got there, Luka tossed his keys over to the valet and he took off his gear.

"This is going to be a great reception!" Marinette said as she and Luka walked inside the Paradis Latin.

"Yeah!" Luka replied while the pair began to walk to the reception room for the party.

As they walked in, Luka caught sight of the rest of the band and they were getting their instruments ready. Luka's guitar was amongst them, and it was being guarded by Nino, who was getting his DJ stand set up. Alya was helping out, too.

Speaking of the journalist, she was wearing a sleeveless, orange cocktail dress that went down about three inches below her knees. She was wearing black nylon stockings to match. The dress had a sweetheart neckline and the skirt was both ruffled and tiered. The top tier was orange while the next layer down was white, and the final layer below was black. The jewelry she was wearing also had the black-orange-white theme going on, and the crown jewel of the ensemble was a necklace that had a fox tail charm on it. The entire outfit was made by Marinette, who always saw Alya as "charming, cunning vixen whom I'm proud to have as my best friend." And Alya took the compliment with pride.

"Luka! There you are, man!" Nino said, calling the guitarist over. "We have your guitar here!"

"You go and mingle with the others, Marinette," Luka said. "I gotta get ready to rock the house."

Marinette smiled as she watched her boyfriend leave her for the band. Alya soon came over and saw how smitten her BFF was with her boyfriend.

"So, looking forward to a slow dance?" Alya asked.

"Oh, I am," Marinette said with a sigh. "Since their father isn't around, Luka's stepping in and doing a brother-sister dance with Juleka in the beginning."

"That sounds like it's going to be a real sight," Alya said. "And you can count on Nino to help create the mood for you and Luka."

Marinette blushed as she thought about sharing a romantic dance with Luka, with all kinds of twirls and spins, maybe a dip or two.

"Speaking of which, I think it's about to start," Alya said, looking at her phone's clock. "Let's get to our seats; come on!"

Alya dragged Marinette to their assigned seats. Since she was dating him, Marinette was seated next to Luka. Meanwhile, Alya was sitting across from Marinette, next to Nino.

Within a few minutes, the remaining guests piled into the reception area, and they were all clamoring, talking and having fun with each other, and the party had not even started yet. Nino took this as his cue to start the music, and he immediately started scratching the records while the others were rocking hard on their instruments.

"Alright, dudes and dudettes! Let's get this party started! I'm your DJ, Nino Lahiffe, and I'm totally honored to present to you our two lovely ladies of the hour, Mrs. and Mrs. Juleka and Rose Couffaine-Lavillant!" Nino announced as Juleka and Rose ran into the hall, holding hands and waving to everyone. Meanwhile, the crowd was whooping and cheering for the newlyweds.

Nino switched out his mix and started to play a softer, slower song. The rest of the band was playing along with the song to really create the mood. Nino said into the microphone, "Now, let's start the party off with Juleka and Rose's first dance as a married pair! Everyone clear the dance floor!"

Everyone went to their seats to watch Juleka and Rose share their first dance under the spotlights. Marinette was smiling and watching with misty eyes, so happy that her old school friends were finally married. They were always so close back in school, and now it had come full circle for them in that day. As their friend, their wedding dress designer, and the girlfriend of Juleka's brother, Marinette was very happy to be part of the journey.

After Rose and Juleka shared their waltz, the music was cut and then Nino announced, "Alright, let's give it up for the newlyweds!"

Everyone was once again applauding for Juleka and Rose. Once the applause calmed down, Nino took the mike up again and he said, "Now, since the father of one of the brides is out of the picture, let's have Juleka share a dance with her older brother, my bro Luka! Yo dude, get your ass on the dance floor!"

Luka gently put his guitar down and ran over to the dance floor to dance with his sister. Rose went off to the side and watched her new wife and brother-in-law dance.

As they began waltzing, Luka asked, "That dress looks great on you. Marinette's talented."

"Yeah, I'm glad I chose her to make the dress," Juleka quietly said. "She knows her stuff."

"She sure does." Luka said as he looked at Marinette and made eye contact with her. He smiled and gave her a wink.

Marinette blushed at Luka's gesture and was thinking, _'I can't wait for our slow dance!'_

Her wish was about to come true. Within a few more minutes, Nino decided to play another slow song while everyone else in the band was on break to have fun and get on the dance floor.

Marinette was standing on the edge of the dance floor, a bit nervous about waltzing.

 _"Deep in my dreams, I saw you close by my side."_

She felt a tap on her shoulder and Marinette turned around to see Luka, who was giving her a smile. He held out his hand and asked her, "May I have this dance?"

"You may." Marinette said, blushing and placing her hand in Luka's. He led her to the dance floor and then the two of them started to move slowly in time with the music.

 _"And the words you said to me made me reel down deep inside."_

Luka held Marinette's hand up in his own while his other hand was on her waist. Marinette had her hand on his shoulder, and the two of them kept eye contact while swaying around.

Marinette kept her eyes on her hand that was being gently held in Luka's. He was treating her like royalty, and Marinette felt so happy.

 _"My hand in your hand, so warm and so lovingly, leaving all my dreams behind, wonder who my prince will be."_

"You look so beautiful in that dress, Marinette," Luka said, still looking her in the eyes and not breaking his gaze. "And you made Juleka look the best she's ever looked in her whole life."

"Thank you, Luka." Marinette said, blushing and looking him in the eye.

 _"What is this wonder that love can make you feel? Am I now deep in slumber or is my prince real?"_

Marinette could not help but keep her eyes on Luka, who was giving her a loving smile and a chuckle. He let go of Marinette's hand and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He laid his chin against her shoulder and placed his face close to the crook o her neck.

"And _you_ look ravishing tonight, Marinette. Dare I say that you're more beautiful than the brides?" Luka whispered into Marinette's ear.

Marinette's legs nearly turned to jelly and she was about to swoon, but she collected herself and said, "A-A-Are you crazy?! You're not supposed to say _any_ woman is more beautiful than the brides at _any_ wedding!"

"Even if I think it's true?" Luka asked in a husky whisper. Marinette felt pleasured chills go up and down her spine, and it felt so good.

Marinette felt her cheeks flush a deep rosy hue and she let out a breath of air in an attempt to relax.

 _"Now, now my dream is standing close by my side, saying words I wish to hear and I'm reeling deep inside."_

The pair kept waltzing, swirling around the dance floor, as if everything around them was melting away into insignificance. They were focused only on each other. Luka was giving her his usual disarming, flirtatious smile, while Marinette was looking at him with a blushing face and a beating heart.

Everyone else had noticed that Luka and Marinette had a very romantic vibe between them, so they cleared the dance floor for them.

Luka led Marinette in an underarm turn and pulled her back into his arms. He dipped her down before pulling her back up, and made sure her head planted against his chest.

"Those two have a great mood going on." Alya whispered to Nino, who was still on the DJ stand.

Nino nodded, agreeing with his girlfriend. He whispered back, "I know, dude. I think I made the right call with this song."

Alya nodded, her eyes on Luka and Marinette's dance with each other.

 _"Morning has come, my dreams are left far behind. As I walk through Paris streets, I know what I shall find."_

Marinette kept her face placed up against Luka's chest and she breathed a relax sigh. Rose and Juleka were off to the side, their eyes alight with happiness for Luka and Marinette. The two of them were the perfect pair.

Marinette lifted her face off of Luka's chest and she craned her head up to look at her boyfriend. It was the perfect moment for the two of them, and the setting was even better.

 _"This smile on my face, will carry a love I have known. Like a fairytale come true, oh what joy this love has shown."_

Once the music cut, everyone was applauding at Luka and Marinette's dance with each other, but the applause was completely tuned out by the lovers. They were only focused on each other.

Luka gave her a finger to tell her to wait for a little bit. He ran back to the DJ stand to pick up his guitar. He walked back to Marinette, took her hand and started to lead her away from the dance floor. In fact, he was leading her away from the reception.

"Luka, where are we going? Dinner hasn't been served yet!" Marinette protested.

"Don't worry, I just wanted to get some privacy and quiet for a little while." Luka said as he led Marinette to a well-lit hallway with a very tall mirror.

"So, what's going on?" Marinette said.

Luka smiled a bit, and he said, "Close your eyes."

"What?" Marinette asked, quirking a brow.

"Just trust me." Luka said with a smile and a nod.

Marinette shrugged and closed her eyes. Luka gently moved Marinette in front of the full-length mirror, and then he took something out of his pocket. Marinette could hear Luka manipulating something behind her. She was wondering what on earth he was up to, but she trusted him, so she decided not to question it.

She felt a small weight on her chest, and then there was a click noise behind her neck.

"Okay, open your eyes." Luka said.

Marinette's eyes flew open at that cue, and she gasped in awe. Luka had put a necklace on her. It was a black and red silk lanyard necklace with a magnetic clasp in the back. And dangling in the center right on her collarbone was a Jagged Stone guitar pick. _Luka's_ guitar pick. Marinette was in awe of the necklace.

"It looks great on you." Luka said to Marinette.

"Oh Luka..." Marinette said, her eyes about to tear up with joy. "How... Where did you get this?"

"I made it using some silk thread I found at the expo on our first date," Luka said, and then he hugged Marinette close from behind. "I've been working on it ever since, and I wanted to be able to give it to you for a while. I thought tonight would be the best time."

"Luka, it's beautiful..." Marinette said, tears streaming down her face. "I can't believe you did this for me."

"Believe it, babe," Luka said. "Because I wanted to do this for you."

Marinette turned around in Luka's arms and hugged him back.

"You're the best, Luka!" Marinette said, rubbing her face against his chest.

"Back at you." Luka said calmly, kissing her on the top of her head.

Marinette looked up and smiled at her boyfriend, who was returning the smile.

"Marinette, I love you so much." Luka said.

"I love you, too." Marinette replied.

The moment was just right. There was nothing to interrupt the two of them this time. Everyone else was so focused on the wedding that they would probably not care that Marinette and Luka were MIA for a little bit.

Luka cupped Marinette's face with one of his hands and began to slowly lean in close. Marinette just let Luka come, and she closed her eyes once more. She began to pucker her lips while Luka mirrored this.

Luka planted his lips against Marinette's, and the two of them moaned in pleasure. They just let everything else fade into oblivion, only focused on each other's lips. They were finally sharing their first kiss, and hopefully this would be the beginning of many more.

Luka pulled away, and then he pulled this guitar out in front of him. He gestured over to a small bench near the mirror, and he and Marinette sat down.

"Marinette, I promise to do the best I can to make you feel like this." Luka said, before playing an upbeat, happy tune.

"I know you will, Luka," Marinette said, scooting closer to him. She laid her head against his arm as he continued to play his instrument. "I know you will."

Luka gave her a smile and continued playing music for her. Marinette was so happy. Sure, her life's love story had taken a huge turn by switching out her beau, but in the end, she did not care. She knew that she and Luka would be happy together, even if Luka would not pop the question until later, hopefully. For the time being, she just wanted to enjoy her time with her boyfriend.

Marinette felt that she owed Juleka a big thanks. Because while she did not plan on it, Marinette was happy that she fell for the brother of the bride.

* * *

 **And... _Et c'est la fin!_ Sorry the finale for this story took so long. I got wrapped up in my other stories and I was having such a hard time figuring out how to continue the plot at all, that I needed to give this story a bit of a break for a while. **

**If you want more Lukanette stories, check out "Eerie Romance," or even tell me if you want more in a PM or a review! Any and all response is appreciated!**


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